


Girl Meets Season 6

by yuniesan



Series: After Season 3 Fics [3]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crack Treated Seriously, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Season fic, it's college stuff happens, joshaya, rucas, smarkle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 71,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25018432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuniesan/pseuds/yuniesan
Summary: The Journey from High School and into College will test everything Riley knew about her life, her friendships and her love. What life lessons will she learn in her first year of college?
Relationships: Farkle Minkus/Isadora Smackle, Lucas Friar/Riley Matthews, Maya Hart/Josh Matthews
Series: After Season 3 Fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1177265
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	1. Episode One – Girl Meets Last Summer

**Author's Note:**

> the first half of this fic had been written for a while now, but stuff happened and I wasn't writing for a while so it had sat unfinished, but I'm posting this here because I started writing it again and I wanted to share.

“I get my roommate assignment today,” Maya said to Josh with a big smile on her face as she opened the computer her parents had gotten her as a graduation gift. It wasn’t the most expensive computer in the world, but it was hers and she was happy about it.

“Are you and Riley going to be roommates?” Josh asked as he settled down next to her on the bed, he had stayed behind that summer since Riley and Lucas had gone down to Texas.

“They said something about a lottery or something, and that freshmen weren’t allowed to pick their roommates but that’s ridiculous, why shouldn’t we pick our roommates,” she said shrugging to him but feeling worried that she was going to be stuck with someone she hated.

“It’s meant to be a growing experience,” Josh said with a smile. “My first roommate at school remember how I had a hard time with him, and now we’re actually friends, so maybe this is going to be your moment to branch out and grow.”

“I don’t want that really, I think I just want to get used to the idea of school first and not have to deal with a new person who in the end might hate me,” she said sighing at Josh. “Maybe I’m just insecure because it’s the first time I’m going to be away from home, and my mom and Shawn are still in the early stages of their marriage.”

“I think you’re more afraid of being away from Riley who has been your rock for years,” Josh put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “But Maya, wouldn’t you want Riley to grow too.”

“I guess,” she said knowing that all of it was too much. She wasn’t sure of what college was going to bring, she wasn’t sure if she would make it if Riley wasn’t around, even though she knows that if Riley had gone to some big school and she couldn’t follow that they would still be friends.

“College isn’t going to change your friendship, you two have the strongest connection to each other now more than ever.”

“But, what if it does?” she asked genuinely afraid to lose her best friend. She couldn’t lose Riley, or Farkle, or even Smackle, Lucas and Zay. She was truly afraid of it all.

“It would only change if you let it,” he said before kissing her on the cheek and pointing at the laptop. “Now let’s find out who your roommate is going to be.”

Maya nodded at Josh, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips before turning to her computer and opening up the student portal. The roommate assignments had been sent out and she saw the message but she hesitated on opening it. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and clicked on the link.

“Maya, you have to open your eyes,” he said in her ear making her jump for a moment before turning and looking at him. He gave her a wide smile and kissed her nose, he always did things like that to distract her for a moment, to get her out of her head. He would kiss her hand, her neck, her forehead, always smiling and encouraging her. They had only had one fight in the time they had been together, it wasn’t a major fight either and she couldn’t remember what it was about but in the end, they always gravitated back to each other. The kisses were small assurances, a reminder of all they have been through over the years to get to where they were.

Turning to the screen she read for a moment before sighing, “Smackle is going to be my roommate,” she said her heart was a little lighter, because she was going to be with someone she knew and that was better than having to be with a new person. “Maybe Riley and Cassie are going to be roommates.”

“You’re okay with this?” he asked, and she knew he was checking to make sure that nothing was bad about this roommate assignment.

“Yes, because in the end it’s still familiar, and maybe I can help Smackle get out of her shell a little more.”

“That’s the spirit,” he said and she couldn’t help but start laughing.

“Oh god you sound like your brother,” she said laughing at him before he started laughing as well.

“He’s rubbing off on me,” Josh said after the moment had passed. “Maybe I need to hang out with a certain blonde a little more so it won’t happen as often.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” she answered before putting her head on his shoulder. “Let’s watch a movie and cuddle.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

\--------

For Isadora Smackle, knowing how to act around others is the hardest thing she could ever do, and the one thing that she can’t master at all. Being a genius doesn’t come with a social manual, and it makes it hard to gain friendships with others when you’re awkward. She got lucky in middle school, she found love at a young age, she gained friendships, she even learned that it was alright to be herself. Once she gets comfortable with a person, her true self comes out and she feels an ounce of what it’s like to be a normal girl.

That’s where her problem at this time begins, because of the fact that she was able to gain all of this she learned to be happy, but she was still a little awkward and it bothered her. It shouldn’t bother her, and her friends have told her so. But starting college is a whole other journey, one where she would need to start over even if she was going to the same school as her friends.

She lucked out in one department, her roommate was going to be Maya, although she had once believed that Maya and Riley would become roommates but apparently the school had other ideas. She had a friend with her, albeit a brash outspoken one, but still a friend. The problem was that she wasn’t Riley and in the end, she was afraid of what would happen between herself and the blonde girl.

“You’re thinking too much Smackle,” Farkle said to her as they sat inside of Topanga’s on an afternoon outing. He had wanted her to get out and go shopping for what they needed for school, and the first step was to get some coffee and make a plan.

“Sorry beloved,” she sighed to him. “It’s just that I don’t understand all of this, how am I supposed to go to school and speak with others when at times I don’t know what to say.”

“Human emotions are complicated Smackle,” he answered, and she knew this but it still didn’t change the fact that she had to do it all over again at a new school. “Just take everything one day at a time and you’re going to be alright.”

She sighed to herself before taking a sip of her latte, “People are like these drinks, all complicated and interesting, at times some are too bitter but when you add something extra they warm up to you.”

“Aww that sounds romantic,” Mrs. Hunter says as she walks by smiling at the two of them. “Are you two ready for school?”

“We’re going shopping today for our necessities,” Smackle said smiling at the older woman. “Your daughter will be my roommate, is there anything I should know in advance?”

“Well that’s an interesting development,” Mrs. Hunter said before thinking to herself for a moment. “Since you’re a scientist you’re going to have a part of the room to work on your experiments so I think you should think about Maya having her own part for art.”

“Maya would like that,” Farkle added smiling at her.

“Has Maya talked to you about anything she would want to bring?” the older woman asked and while Smackle nodded, she didn’t know what it meant when Maya had spoken to her.

“She said we would need a microwave, but I thought we had meal plans for school,” Smackle answered.

“The microwave is probably for snacks, for times when the dining hall is closed,” Mrs. Hunter answered.

“How do you know so much,” Smackle said as she wrote it all down.

“I watch a lot of shows,” she said and Smackle knew that it was because Mrs. Hunter hadn’t gone to college. She had wanted to become an actress and while she did have her chances at roles, she still worked at the café.

“Have you ever thought about going to school, at least part-time,” Smackle said to her hoping that it would inspire her to step out of her comfort zone in the same way that Smackle was. “It’s never too late to go and get an education.”

“I’m not cut out for school,” she answered and for some reason it only made Smackle more determined.

“Maybe you just need the right motivation, I mean Maya had once believed that she couldn’t get the same chance and look at her she’s starting college in the fall, so by logic if she could you can too,” Smackle said trying to give the older woman so hope for her own future.

She realized at that moment that Farkle was watching but not saying a word to either of them. He was giving her the opportunity to learn, on how she could interact with another person. That’s when she realized that she could do this, she could go to college and be awkward and weird in other people’s eyes as long as she had her friends by her side helping her along.

“If you start now, you and Maya could both graduate at the same time, and that would be something you both share with one another,” Smackle finished giving the woman an awkward smile.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Hart said after a moment had passed, smiling at her. “That’s the nicest thing anyone could have said to me, and maybe you’re right maybe I just needed the right motivation, and who knows, maybe I could teach drama one day in a middle school just like Cory teaches history.”

She smiled at Smackle before walking off, mumbling to herself about going to school for teaching, and wanting to be a drama teacher. Smackle wasn’t sure what she had done, but the smile on her boyfriend’s face made her heartbeat just a little faster.

Why was it so hard to be a girl?

\--------

Zay wasn’t sure what had happened, in the middle of July he had been happy, he had had his friends, his girlfriend, and he was going on a trip to Texas to visit family. By the end of July everything changed and he was heartbroken.

Cassie’s mom had relapsed, and the family had decided to move to Florida to be close to their extended family while her mother was treated. The whole point of college for Cassie had been to grow after years of helping her family, and Zay was one of the reasons she had been able to get out of that shell. In the end, family was more important than their relationship, and he knew this because it was the same for him.

“I’m sorry Zay,” she had said to him as she told him that she wasn’t going to school with them. “I need to be there for them, I can’t leave them.”

“I know,” he said but it didn’t stop his heart from shattering. This was what Lucas must have felt when he had thought that Riley was going to move to London during freshman year.

The day that she was leaving he stood at the airport with her, holding back the tears, he loved her and he knew it was something special but he also knew that he had to let go. His grandmother had once told him that if he was fated to be with someone that person would come back to them time and time again. He wanted to hold onto that thought, he wanted to have the hope that maybe some high school romance was going to last forever, especially since he watched his friends have those moments themselves. It’s just that it wasn’t meant to be for him.

“Zay,” Cassie said as she held onto his hand, before she had to go through the gate and he would lose her. “Please don’t hold back in school, go out with people, date have fun.”

“I don’t know why this hurts so much,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“I know, but Zay honey, my sugar, people come and go in our lives,” she said trying to tell him in her own way to move on. “I’m leaving yes, but one day I want to be able to look back and remember that this was the right thing to do, I don’t ever want you to regret our relationship because for me, these past two years have been the best I’ve had.”

He could feel her body shaking, he knew she didn’t want this to happen as much as he wished it hadn’t happened. He wished he could cure her mother, keep them together, but in the end, it wasn’t possible. This was the life that they had been given, and he wanted her to have every moment with her mother. If it had been his mother and she had wanted to move back to Texas he knew that he would go with her, because for Cassie and him their family meant the world. If they were sick or hurt, the two of them would drop everything to be with their families. Even if it meant breaking each other’s hearts along the way.

“Take care of your mom,” he said not wanting to let go.

“One day, if we’re meant to be Zay, one day we’ll find our way back to one another,” she whispered in his ear before letting go.

She wiped the tears off her face and gave him the best smile she could before walking through the security gates and joining her family, waving at him as she walked forward leaving him standing there wishing that this wasn’t the fate they had been handed.

\--------

Lucas felt like an idiot, they had had a fight because he had wanted to sit down at the campfire and talk about the past. He had wanted them to fight their past life, the problems that sometimes plagued them, and make a new memory in the same place. The minute he realized it had been a mistake was when he had told her the whole story about what had happened in middle school. He could see the heartbreak in Riley’s eyes, because apparently Maya hadn’t told her everything about their conversation about the almost kiss about that day that he had felt so broken about.

He found her the next day, sitting in the middle of the field as the afternoon sun hit her face and the shadows danced around her. Riley in the end hated reliving that part of their relationship, but he had pushed because he wanted it to forever be in the past. They were starting school in a few weeks, Riley was going to be rooming with some girl she had never met, while Lucas had lucked out and had gotten a suite with Farkle and Zay. Everything was changing, and he was sure that those changes were a part of why Riley was insecure about everything else.

“That day was one of the worst days of my life,” he said as he sat down next to her. Before she could say anything, he held up his hand. “Let me get this out.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Every time the triangle or that first trip down here comes up it brings up bad memories, and even though we both learned to hide it I know it’s going to haunt us for a long time, so I wanted to clear the air and get this all over with so that when we start school in the fall we could put it behind us once and for all.” He knew that she wanted to say something put instead he put his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. “So that day was the worst, maybe because I knew even then that I was in love with you, and you pushed me aside, you told me about Maya and in my mind, all I could feel was this part of me that was floating away. I was really broken up about it, and it’s one of the days I regret the most.”

“I’m sorry,” she said but he shook his head.

“No, don’t be sorry Riley,” he said before crossing his legs and turning towards her. “After reading through your articles sophomore year and seeing how the whole thing affected you, I thought back to that moment and realized that the part that had broken off was the one that kept me grounded, the part that held back that angry side of who I used to be. I tried to be good, and do what you wanted but honestly it hurt me even more. I’m the best I can be when you’re around, I had to learn to be next to you without being with you.”

“If I could change the past,” she said as she looked into his eyes, “I would change that whole mess, I probably would have pushed Josh more, or Maya, or even myself.”

“We can’t change the past Riley, but it can teach us a lot about ourselves, you make me a better person, and even though it happened it also means that we can learn from it.”

“So, do you want to try again? Because that campfire isn’t going to light itself,” she said smiling at him. “And maybe we can finally put this all to rest.”

That night while they laid down on a blanket watching the stars as the campfire roared next to them, Lucas knew that whatever happened in the past, whatever parts that they could have done differently, he wouldn’t have changed because he wasn’t sure if changing them would have brought them to this moment under the stars. Riley was snuggled close to him, her hand on his chest right over his heart. For a moment they both looked into each other’s eyes and he felt bashful, they never really made out, they had tried and often failed mainly because of her father.

He took this moment and put his hand on her cheek and slowly pulled her face up, so that her lips could meet his and slowly kissed her. It was soft and sweet, with a bit of spice to it, but that was because they had eaten barbeque earlier, but it was everything to him. He felt her hand slowly move up towards his hair, and he couldn’t help but want her hands there for the rest of his life.

Someone cleared their throat above them before pulling Riley away from Lucas, “What the hell…” the words died in his throat as he came face to face with Mr. Matthews.

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you come down here,” he said to Riley as her mother rushed towards them. “Why aren’t you two being supervised as you suck face.”

“Oh Cory,” Mrs. Matthews said as she pulled Riley away from her father. “Sorry Lucas, but there was no stopping him.”

“It’s okay,” he said but he missed the feel of Riley next to him. “I knew this whole trip was too good to be true.”

“Damn straight bucko,” Mr. Matthews said before his wife groaned. “Riley you’re coming back to the hotel with us, no more of this… whatever it is.”

“Dad,” Riley said but before she could finish her father pulled her away.

“You know you’re welcome to stay at the house,” Pappy Joe said as they reached the porch steps. “You don’t need some fancy hotel, and you can have some family time.”

“That sounds lovely,” Mrs. Matthews said before pulling Riley away from her father. “But we don’t want to put you out.”

“It won’t be a bother ma’am, there’s plenty of room,” he said as Auggie rushed forward chasing Pappy Joe’s newest edition, a border collie named Luna that he had adopted earlier that summer, the Matthews dog Artemis not far behind.

“It really wouldn’t, and Mr. Matthews can chase me around the yard if he wants too,” Lucas added making Riley snort, her father glared at him but before he could say anything her mother pulled him aside to talk to Pappy Joe.

“This is our life,” Riley said the moment her father was out of hearing range. “I don’t think I would change it for the world.”

“I would do it all over again too,” he said to her before taking her hand and going back to the campfire with Auggie and the dogs so that they could roast marshmallows and talk about the stars in the sky.


	2. Episode Two – Girl Meets Roommate

Riley and Lucas had returned from Texas only to have to finish packing and getting ready for the move to school in a few days. In those days her father had become unbearable because his fear of her leaving was heavy on his mind. Every time she thought about leaving the house just to see her friends or to see Lucas her father would follow her to the door and then give her something else to do instead.

“Mom,” she called out once she arrived at the café. “Dad’s becoming crazier as the days go by,” she sighed as she draped herself over the counter.

“Sorry Riley,” her mother said before pulling her up. “He’s afraid of losing you, even though I told him that you weren’t going to be faraway.”

“Why is he different with Auggie?” she asked knowing that her brother wasn’t at fault for her father’s behavior.

“Father’s are more protective of their daughters, also I’m pretty sure that he’s crazy and I should have him committed,” her mother gave her a wide smile as she said the words. She knew that her mother was joking but somedays she wished that her father would learn to let go just a little. “Riley, you’re still seventeen, he’s just worried.”

“I know, it’s just that I wish he wouldn’t worry so much, it’s not like I picked a school across the country, the school is within driving distance.”

“I sometimes wish you had picked a school on the other side of the country, because that way he wouldn’t have the chance to annoy you so much,” her mother sighed, and Riley knew that this had something to do with her giving something up a long time ago, something in California, but her parents loved each other and they would follow one another to the ends of the world.

“Hey Riley,” someone said from behind her and when Riley turned around she saw her friends smiling at her.

“I may have made a call,” her mother said before turning around and getting back to work. “You’re welcome,” she said from the other side of the room.

“Thanks mom,” Riley called out before walking over to where everyone was sitting, the only people missing were Josh, Zay and Cassie.

“Your dad’s becoming a monster, or at least that’s what your mother was saying,” Maya said as Riley sat down in between her best friend and her boyfriend.

“Yeah well apparently me leaving, even when I left for Texas was too much for him,” Riley said before burying her face in Lucas’s shoulder and taking in the smell of Lucas. She wished some days that she could bottle it up and keep it close because it felt comforting to know that he was around even in spirit.

“Well Shawn’s the same way,” Maya said slumping over on the couch. “He actually kicked Josh out of the house a few days ago, and I haven’t seen him since.”

“He went to see my grandparents so he should be back before the new semester starts,” she said as she took her best friend’s hand and held it close, Maya leaned into Riley’s side and stayed there. “By the way where’s Zay and Cassie, I feel like I haven’t seen either of them.”

“No one knows,” Lucas said looking around to see if anyone would say anything but everyone just shrugged. They had all been busy buying things for school, but Zay had still sent them messages until he had stopped completely the day before Riley and Lucas had gotten back from Texas.

Riley was hoping that her two friends were just spending time with their families, and that nothing was wrong. She made a mental note to call both Cassie and Zay when she got home and find out where the two of them had gone off too. The rest of the afternoon the group spent inside the café talking about school and their trip up that Friday for when they would have to move into the dorms.

“Smackle and I are roommates,” Maya said to Riley and she knew that Maya had wanted them to be roommates but somehow felt that for Maya, getting to know Smackle like this would be a big leap.

“Lucas, Zay and I are together, but our dorm is on the other side of the campus,” Farkle added, smiling at Smackle as he said it. “They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

“I will endeavor to miss you as well beloved,” Smackle said smiling at Farkle, and Riley couldn’t help but think that they had actually become cuter over the years.

“My dorm is in between the guys and Maya and Smackle’s dorm,” Riley said wishing that she had at least gotten the chance to be in the same dorm as Maya but that hadn’t happened.

“We’re actually going to be separated Riles,” Maya said her face sad for a moment. “We’ve never been this far apart before.”

Riley couldn’t help but laugh at those words, “New experiences, plus you heard Farkle absence makes the heart grow fonder,” she said before smiling up at Lucas who kissed her on her head as a way of saying that he understood as well.

“Is Cassie your roommate?” Maya asked her after a moment had passed and Riley just shook her head.

“Nope,” she said thinking about having to meet someone new on the first day. “Her name is Samaira, apparently she went to Einstein Academy, and she lives here in the city as well but I keep wondering if I’ve ever met her.”

“I know her, she is a comparable person to myself, she’s studying to become a cardiovascular physician, but whereas I left Einstein Academy she stayed there and continued her studies among other intellectuals,” Smackle said to them.

“We love you too Smackle,” Maya said.

“Did I say something wrong?” Smackle asked looking over at Maya who slumped over into Riley’s side.

“I don’t know if I’m going to survive living with Smackle,” Maya said into her arm and Riley rubbed her back.

“You need someone with that kind of honesty in your life Maya,” Riley said to her before turning to Smackle. “Do you think we would get along?”

“I believe so, you two have similar outlooks on life, you believe in the best in people even when some others don’t believe it, and she’s incredibly kind to others,” Smackle said smiling at Riley in her own awkward way. 

\-------

When move in day arrived, Riley had almost screamed out the car window, her father had worn a special shirt with her face on it, and then put stickers on the car announcing it to the world that she was going to college. Luckily her mother pulled the stickers off before they left but the man hadn’t let up, he was going to annoy her to the end of time.

“Daddy, please don’t wear that shirt,” she begged but her father just looked at her and got into his car and closed the door.

“Let him have his fun Riley,” her mother said kissing her on the cheek. “We’re taking you to college, when will we see you again?”

“Apparently every week until the end of time,” she said to her mother before mumbling to herself, “maybe I should have gone to California.”

Her mother smiled at her and gave her a hug, “It’ll be fine, I’ll keep him busy so that he doesn’t do anything rash like try to get a job at your school.”

“Seriously why isn’t he like this with Auggie? I need to know,” she asked but her mother just shrugged.

“I think it’s a guy thing I’m not sure, but trust me the moment we put everything in your dorm I’ll try my best to drag him out.”

“Good luck with that,” her father said from the driver’s seat.

Auggie was with Ava for the day while they drove up but Riley had hugged her brother after breakfast, promising that they would talk as much as possible, they had even opened up a special messenger app for them to talk through. Auggie still didn’t have his own phone, but he had a tablet and that was going to be the only way they were going to be able to talk until their parents gave him his own phone.

The drive up to the school was filled with her father telling them stories about Riley growing up, and then him sobbing as he drove saying things like, “I should have cherished those moments more,” or “Why does she have to leave me.” Her mother was laughing the whole time but after putting her things in her room Riley knew that she was going to miss her parents as well.

“I love you guys,” she said hugging them close. “Thank you for being my parents.”

“I love you too Riley,” her mother said as she rubbed her back.

“I don’t want you to stay,” her father protested. “I don’t want you to grow up, I want you to be that little girl in the bay window forever just singing to yourself.”

“Cory,” her mother said trying to pry her father off of her but he just held on tighter. “Come on Cory, we’ll come up for parents’ weekend and spend the whole time up here with her. I ever booked a hotel room for us for that weekend so that we wouldn’t leave until Sunday.”

“Fine Topanga, but don’t come crying to me when our daughter gets in trouble, or when she starts saying that she wants to come home.”

It took her mother another twenty minutes before her father let go of her and they had finally left, her room was filled with boxes of her stuff, and she stood there wondering which side of the room she could take. Her roommate hadn’t arrived just yet and Riley was truly alone, Maya hadn’t driven up just yet because Shawn had made them have a family lunch together before packing up the car. Lucas had to wait until later this afternoon to leave because he was waiting for Zay who Riley still hadn’t had the chance to talk to. He was avoiding her, and she didn’t know why, on top of that Cassie’s phone had been disconnected which only worried her even more.

Riley decided on taking the bed closest to the window, because it would remind her of the bay window in her bedroom and how the light came into the room in the mornings. She started unpacking when the door opened and a man walked in holding a large box. Riley quickly went to the door and held it open.

“Thank you,” he said before walking to the empty side of the room and setting the box down. When he turned around he saw a familiar head of brown hair, and the face of someone she hadn’t seen in a long time, not since sophomore year of high school.

“Mr. Bradford,” she squeaked out, her heart jumping. “What are you doing here?”

“Riley,” he said smiling at her for a moment. “My step-daughter Sam is your roommate, this is a small world after all.”

“Yes, it is,” a familiar voice said from behind her making Riley want to run out of the room. She remembered Missy, she remembered the last time they had seen each other, right before she had been expelled from Abigail Addams for bullying Riley and getting caught.

“Missy be nice,” Mr. Bradford said before pulling her out of the room shortly after another girl walked in, her hair was long and black, but her smile made Riley pause for a moment. This person wasn’t like Missy, she seemed nicer, and if what Smackle had said was right she was a smart person who wanted to be a doctor.

“Hi,” a woman said from the door, her features similar to the younger woman, this was her mother. “You must be Riley.”

“Yes, I’m Riley,” she answered her heart was calming down after the confrontation with Missy.

“I’m Arya, this is my daughter Samaira,” she said pointing out the girl who was going to be Riley’s roommate for the year. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Riley said holding out her hand to greet the woman.

“Mom go help dad with the rest of my things please,” the other girl said before her mother nodded and smiled at the two of them.

“Okay Sam, I understand that you don’t want your overbearing mother around,” Arya said before walking off leaving the two girls behind.

“So,” Riley said looking down at her feet.

“I know about your history with Missy,” Samaira said before turning to Riley. “I’m sorry for anything she has done to you but please don’t think that I’m the same.”

“I don’t even know you, so I won’t pass judgement,” Riley answered before looking up at her new roommate. “Let’s start over, wipe the slate clean.”

“Okay,” she said turning to Riley. “Hi, my name is Sam, I’m your roommate.”

“Hi, I’m Riley,” she said and the two of them laughed for a moment breaking the tension that had built up from the moment Mr. Bradford had walked in through the door. “I picked the bed near the window, I hope that’s okay with you.”

“Yes, because I’m not a big morning person so the wall can prevent the sun from hitting me in the eye,” Sam said smiling at Riley. “I’m not joking either, I turn into a she beast when I don’t have coffee first thing in the morning.”

“I feel like I should have brought a coffee maker with me,” Riley said.

“Don’t worry, I brought mine with me, so I hope you like cappuccinos.”

“Like them I used to make them,” Riley said before sitting down on her bed. “I used to help out at my mother’s café, it’s called Topanga’s.”

“I’ve been there before, they had the best pastries in the world.”

Riley pulled out a bag that her mother had given her and handed it to Sam, “My mother gave me this before I left, she called it a little bit of home, so we can share it if you want.”

“This is great Riley,” Sam said opening the bag and sniffing its contents. “We’re going to be good friends I know it.”

“And all I needed was a bag full of pastries,” Riley said smiling before she heard a groan from the door making her jump.

“Could you help us?” Missy said as she walked in with a box in her hands. “The fast we get this over with the faster I can go to my school and get away from you all.”

“I’m just going to help them bring my things in,” Sam said gesturing towards the door before walking out with Missy.

Riley just stood there for a moment and looked at her room trying to find a place to start, after a minute there was a knock on the door and Riley was afraid to turn around. She slowly turned towards the door to see a familiar pair of eyes and rowdy hair, she couldn’t help but smile as Zay walked in through the door but she could feel a hint of something in him.

“I asked Lucas to let me come see you before he rushed over to proclaim his undying love for you,” Zay said as he walked into the room. “I figured we could talk.”

“I’ve been wondering why you’ve been avoiding me,” Riley said to him. The two of them had gotten closer over the years and if felt as if this past summer they had grown apart even though it wasn’t possible.

“I sort of was,” he said before settling on her bed. “Cassie and I broke up over the summer.”

Riley couldn’t help but gasp as the words came out of his mouth, she felt responsible for his heartbreak, she had been the one to introduce them. For a moment she didn’t know what to do, they had been so happy she couldn’t figure out what had happened.

“I know that face, and Riley it’s not your fault,” he said looking up at her. “Cassie’s mom got sick again and her doctors told her that it would be better if she lived somewhere calmer and less polluted, Cassie loves her family so when they said that they were moving to Florida she decided to go with them.”

“You broke up because you were going to be apart, but what if she wanted to come back?”

“That the thing, we don’t know what the future holds, but she wanted me to have the chance to be happy even if it wasn’t with her,” he said before the tears began to fall. “It just hurts so much to not have her here with me some days.”

Riley walked over to him and pulled him into her arms, it was the only thing she could do, because he had lost someone he loved, and it was going to hurt him for a while. They stayed quiet for a moment before the sound of her roommate and her family reminded her of her current situation, one that she didn’t want Zay to have to deal with.

“My roommate is coming, if you want to meet her you can stay,” she said and he nodded.

“I’ll stay,” he said smiling at her. “I need a friend, one that knows what’s going on.”

“You don’t want the others to know?”

“Not right now,” he said trying to clean his face so that the tear marks wouldn’t show. “If that’s alright with you?”

“Well if you want a distraction you’re about to get a big one,” she said with a sigh. “My roommate is Missy Bradford’s step-sister.”

“What,” Zay said looking at her with shock. “She’s not like Missy, is she?”

“I don’t think so, according to Smackle she’s a nice person, but for some reason a lot of things are clicking in place from what happened in middle school.”

“Riley,” Sam said from the door. “I brought the coffee machine… oh you have someone here.”

“Yeah, um… Sam this is my friend Zay,” she said introducing the two of them. “Oh, and I brought a mini fridge but it’s still in the box, so I hope you didn’t get one too.”

“No, actually now that I think about it I should have thought of that too.”

“Should I go,” Zay said but Riley shook her head.

“You can help us unpack,” she said to him before leaning towards him. “And help me get through this moment because I don’t think I’m ready for a faceoff with Missy.”

“You got it sugar,” he said smiling at the two of them. “Just tell me where to move things and I’ll help you.”

Riley and Zay had been quiet when the rest of the Bradford’s had come into the room, Sam’s mom was kind to them, but Riley could see Missy scowling at her. When her parents left Missy turned her attention to Zay and Riley and sneered.

“I guess Lucas didn’t stay after all if you’re with this one,” Missy said but before Riley or Zay could say something Lucas came in and towered over Missy.

“I stayed, we’re still together, and if you ever say anything to Riley, or Zay that would piss me off I won’t hesitate to punch you,” he said but Riley moved faster than she thought she could, pulling Lucas away from Missy and settling him next to Zay.

“Missy I don’t want any problems,” Sam said from the other side of the room.

“She started it,” Missy retorted but they all knew that that wasn’t true. “Whatever, you have your stuff now we can leave.”

“Okay,” Sam said before following Missy out. “I’m so sorry about all of that,” she said before closing the door.

Riley turned towards Lucas and put her hand on his face, “It’s fine she wouldn’t do anything around her father.”

“She shouldn’t have been here in the first place,” he said before pulling her close. Too many memories filled the air, the fear of everything that had happened to them over the years because of Missy, and her friends.

“I think I understand now,” Zay said and Riley looked up to him. “I’m guessing around the time she started bullying you in middle school was the same time her father had remarried, because that woman was not Missy’s mother.”

“I was thinking the same thing, and she lashed out at me because of who I was, and what I had,” Riley said with a sigh. “I was an easy target.”

The three of them stayed silent for a moment before Sam walked back into the room sighing, “I love my mother and my step-father, but I sometimes wish that Missy was a better person.”

“We all wish that,” Zay said giving Sam a smile and Riley knew that Sam was about to become a part of their little group of friends.

“I know about your history together, I hadn’t known when they had given me my roommate assignment that you were the same person, but I knew who you were, and trust me I’m nothing like my step-sister.”

“I know, I knew from the moment we spoke that you were a kind person,” Riley said with a smile. “Come on let’s unpack and then we can go to the freshman orientation and you can meet my friends.”

“Sure,” Sam said with a smile.

Riley understood at that moment that her whole life was going to change, because if she could see someone who tormented her over the years and still come out happy then she could survive college. It was going to be hard but she had her friends, her little family, her new roommate and she had Lucas who was willing to fight for her no matter what.


	3. Episode Three – Girl Meets Undeclared

Over the summer the school sent all of the students a code to log onto the registration website, Riley watched as Lucas had declared his major in Veterinary sciences, she was on the phone with Maya who declared Art as her major with an Art History minor, while the genius couple declared double majors, Farkle in Computer Science and Biochemistry, and Smackle in Chemistry and Physics, they both decided to minor in History because of her dad. Zay had declared Criminal Justice, with a minor in English because he wanted to have one fun thing to think about, and he secretly shared Riley’s love for books. They had a hidden book club, just the two of them where they read everything from harlequin romance novels to the classics.

So, when it was time for Riley to declare her major, she had decided not to do so, instead taking advantage of the freedom that came with being undeclared. She had two years to declare her major, but for now she just wanted to take classes in everything she could and enjoy her college years. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was going to be a writing major, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep writing magazine articles or if she wanted to go into fiction. Her book club with Zay gave her a bigger lover for writing fiction, and gave her the freedom to create characters without having to tell the whole world about her own life problems.

Her class schedule was only four classes, but one of them was an upper level fiction writing class that she was taking with Zay and they were both excited about taking it. The first day of school was still one day away and they had a bunch of freshman activities that they could do before then. Riley only had class two days a week, but she wasn’t going to slack off because of the shorter schedule.

“Ugh, I have class tomorrow,” Maya said as she sat down at the table Riley was sitting at. “Why am I going to college anyway if I still have to wake up so early.”

“Maya your first-class tomorrow is at noon, it’s not really that early,” she said smiling at her best friend right before she yawned, it had been a long two nights for Riley, she had been so used to her bed at home that she hadn’t anticipated not being comfortable somewhere completely new.

“But we’re up before ten on a Sunday,” Maya groaned as she laid her head down on the table. “I don’t get up before noon on Sundays.”

“Well we’re up because we have to buy our textbooks today, and there’s that tree planting ceremony for the freshmen, and I’m going shopping with Sam and Lucas, we need to buy curtains and a rug, and anything else we need for our room because after two mornings with our room looking the way it does I realized that it had to change.”

Maya looked at her for a moment before sitting up, “It seems like you’re getting along with her, especially after finding out she’s Missy Bradford’s sister,” she said but Riley couldn’t help but hear the slight hint of anger in Maya’s voice.

Missy Bradford had been the cause of a lot of things in Riley’s life, and it all started in Middle School and with Lucas. Missy like every other girl liked Lucas, but his friendly charms had worked too well on Missy who had attached herself to him. At the time Riley’s relationship with him was purely friendship but Maya knew that Riley had a crush the size of the Titanic on one Lucas Friar. Every time Missy came back into her life everything changed, bullying was no longer something the teachers talked about when it came to other students, because it had happened to Riley as well.

For Sam, who had emphasized that she wasn’t like her step-sister, and preferred being Samaira Patel, whose parents were from India, because she had loved her father before his death and wanted nothing more than to continue to honor him. She was so different from Missy, Sam had told her about growing up, that while she was American born, her family traveled back and forth to India to visit family. In the two days since they met, Riley learned that her roommate wanted to be a doctor for childhood cancer research because she had lost her younger sister to cancer the year before her father died.

“Maya, Sam is nothing like Missy, you should know this, you can’t judge someone by the actions of others,” Riley said remembering all of the life lessons her father had taught them. “Why not get to know her, we’re going to be going to this school for the next four years, we have to learn to branch out.”

“Because I don’t want you to get your hopes up and get hurt,” Maya said to her getting up and walking away.

Riley couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Maya all of a sudden so instead of sitting there and figuring it out she stood up grabbed their trays and put them on the clean-up bin before following Maya out the door.

“Maya,” she said rushing forward to grab a hold of her best friend. “Maya seriously what’s going on we’ve been here two days and you’re already acting weird.”

“I’m afraid Riley,” Maya said before plopping herself down on the grass. “We’re in different dorms, miles away from home, you’re already making friends with your roommate and I’m away from Josh, it’s too much.”

“Maya you’re fearless most of the time,” Riley said as she sat down next to Maya on the ground. “It’s bound to happen, a moment where you’re afraid of something but you have to remember that I’m here, so is Farkle, and Lucas, Smackle is with you, and Zay is here as well.”

“But you’re already making friends, and you’re going shopping like nothing has happened, and I feel like I’m drowning because nothing feels the same.”

“It’s not supposed to stay the same Maya, how else are we going to grow,” she said smiling at Maya as the sun warmed their skin. “Remember when I changed my room and you didn’t want it to happen, but we learned that it needed to happen because we were growing up and the bay window had to grow up with us.”

“Yes,” Maya said looking out into the distance.

“Well this is the same in a way, we need room to grow, we need to learn and we can do it together or else we’re all going to fall apart,” she said as she squeezed Maya’s shoulder. “Plus, Josh has a car and he’s going to drive up here when he can just so he could see you, and I’m pretty sure that Smackle needs you more that you need me because she’s still trying to gain her footing in all of this human interaction stuff, no matter what Farkle says.”

“I know, I guess it’s just weird, for so long I was climbing in through your window searching for family and when I finally get one, well at least a whole one, I have to learn new things and you know how much I hate learning.”

“Well you’re in for a shock, you’re minoring in Art History, so… you’re going to have to learn a lot of new things,” Riley said sticking her tongue out at Maya, which only caused Maya to laugh out loud for the first time that morning. “Maya, you and Smackle can come with us to the Target on main street and we could all buy what we need to make our rooms more… well more homey I guess.”

“That sounds good, after we spend a fortune on textbooks,” she said with a sigh. “If I had known that I would have to buy my textbooks I probably wouldn’t have gone to college.”

“We can get them used, and if the prices are too much I’m pretty sure Farkle will help us find a better price,” Riley said standing up and brushing the grass off of her pants. “Come on let’s go meet up with our friends,” she held out her hand to help the blonde off the ground.

Riley understood that Maya was shaken by the move, she was too but Riley also knew that they needed this change in order to understand the world better. If her parents could move to New York and start over, the same with Uncle Shawn, or Maya’s mother who had come to the city looking to follow her dreams, then these kids who had grown up together could find their way through college, even if they weren’t doing everything together.

\------

As it turned out, textbooks were ridiculously expensive at the school bookstore, and while Riley had saved up enough to buy them, she still wanted to have money left over. Maya, Farkle and Smackle were worse off since they were studying subjects where the books ranged in the hundred-dollar range. And while Farkle could afford everything for himself, the rest of them weren’t so lucky. So, Riley went to her dorm room and pulled out her laptop and started looking into ordering the books online, using her mother’s amazon account the group slowly ordered what they could online and decided to use the library copies until everything came in.

“Why are textbook so expensive though,” Sam said as they looked at the carpets inside of the dorm and school section at target. “You’re lucky you’re not taking any science classes.”

“Yeah but I’m taking the math class that I’m required to take and the book for that class is one twenty-five,” she answered looking at a carpet that was purple with lilac swirls. “What about this one?” she asked holding it up for Sam to see.

“That’s cute,” Sam said smiling at the carpet, “Maybe with those purple and white curtains that we saw.”

“The overlay curtains?” Riley asked remembering the curtains Sam was talking about, the back piece were blackout curtains while the front was white with purple swirls on them.

“Yeah, they were cute,” Sam said as she pulled out the carpet. “What were the measurements for our room again?”

Riley laughed before looking at the tag on the carpet, “This should be fine.”

The two of them had walked around for a while, Lucas, Farkle and Zay had gone in search of things for their room, while Maya and Smackle had been arguing over a lamp because Maya liked it but Smackle had said that it wasn’t practical. For some reason everything felt right even though it all seemed to be going a little haywire as they picked up their things. Riley could hear Maya laughing at something she was showing Smackle, which brought a smile to the genius girl’s face. Riley knew that this was what they both needed, a little something to take them out of their comfort zone. Maya needed to learn to grow and teach someone how to have fun, and Smackle needed embrace her quirks and be more open about her true feelings. The two of them had lucked out because this was going to be the best learning experience for them both.

“How’s the shopping going?” Lucas asked as he joined her while Sam went to look for a cable for her computer.

“Well so far so good I guess,” she said with a shrug. “I mean I wasn’t happy with how expensive the textbook were, but since my classes aren’t as intense as the ones Farkle and Smackle are taking, or the art classes Maya is taking, my books weren’t as expensive.”

Lucas put his arm around her shoulder and brought her into his arms. “Well no one said college was going to be easy.”

“We should have appreciated high school more,” she said as she leaned into his touch. “I mean they fed us, the books were free and we didn’t have to worry about being away from home.”

“Yeah but think about everything we’re going to learn now, and everything that we’re going to take away from the experience.”

“Hey none of that,” Maya yelled out at them. “We’re in public for crying out loud.”

Riley could hear Sam laughing behind her as Zay and Farkle came into view with a cart full of drinks and snacks. Where the two of them were going to put it all Riley wasn’t sure but the smile on Zay’s face was enough for her to know that he was going to be alright.

“Maya if Josh were here you would climb his like a tree,” Smackle said making Riley snort into Lucas’s shirt.

“Wow Smackle, you’ve been living with me for three days and you already have come backs,” Maya said putting her arm around her roommate. “This is going to be fun.”

Riley couldn’t help but wonder what a combination of Maya and Smackle together plotting things would mean for the world. But she pushed the thought aside and pushed the cart forward. The rest of the shopping trip went off without any real problems, Riley sticking to Lucas’s side for the short amount of time they had left in the store. The dorms didn’t have a curfew, and they all knew that they had more freedom now that they weren’t living at home but Riley was tired and opted to go home while everyone else went off to the dining hall.

“Long day,” Lucas said as he helped her bring everything into her room.

“It feels like it’s been a very long week, and I haven’t gotten used to my bed yet so it’s a little hard to sleep,” she said as she sat down at her desk.

“Is that the reason why you brought that mattress pad?”

“Yeah, it’s a little fluffier than the one my parents said to get, but I think it would help,” she smiled at him before yawning. “Zay and Sam seemed to become quick friends?”

“You’re not going to try and hook them up, are you?”

“No, I learned my lesson on that but I just think that it’s nice that he’s not closing us off, or himself to new friends after Cassie.”

Lucas sighed before kneeling down in front of her. “It’s not your fault you know, none of us knew that that was going to happen.”

“I know but I still feel a little responsible since I introduced them,” she said thinking about the role she played in Zay’s heartbreak. “But I know I’m not at fault for what life and destiny would bring a person.”

Lucas put his arms around her waist, even while leaning down to meet his head she felt safer than she would ever have been. Classes would start the next day, she had an extra day off before her classes would start, but in that moment, all there was, was Lucas holding onto her and the world trying to find it’s center.

“How about we fix up your bed, go get some dinner, and come back and watch a movie?” Lucas asked her, and she nodded, it was strange but she still felt like her father was going to break down the door just from the suggestion. She found herself laughing just thinking about it. “What’s so funny?”

“I just thought about my dad freaking out and breaking down the door just because we’re alone in my room,” she said to him with a smile on her face.

“Well it wouldn’t be us without your dad freaking out in one way or another,” Lucas smiled back at her before slowly standing up.

Lucas flipped her mattress before they put the pad on top, he thought that maybe it would help her sleep better. She wasn’t sure about that but once everything was in place and her pillows were set she was happy that it was done. She had forgotten about getting food before she found herself flopping down on the bed.

“This is so comfortable,” she murmured into the pillow. Lucas laughed as he sat down next to her and gave her a kiss on her head.

“I’m going to get us some food, so if you want you can take a nap and when I get back we could watch that movie.”

Her response had been muffled by her pillow, but she had given his hand a squeeze to tell him that it was alright. She had only slept for fifteen minutes before getting up, she had been uncomfortable, and it wasn’t because of the bed. Her jeans were too tight and she felt like the room was a million degrees. Getting up she went to the bathroom with her stuff and took a quick shower before putting on her pajamas and tying her hair up in a messy bun.

“Better,” she said to herself before walking back to her room only to see Lucas standing outside waiting for her with a bag of food.

“Dinner is served,” he said with a smile and she couldn’t help just how normal it felt to have moments like this, at least ones that weren’t interrupted by her father.

They watched one of the movies on her laptop while eating what Lucas had brought from one of the dining halls which let students have take-out. They didn’t talk they just stayed there, quiet in each other’s arms, to the point where both Riley and Lucas had fallen asleep.

The two of the jolted awake when the bedroom door swung open and hit the wall causing Lucas to jump off the bed and look around waiting to be scolded by her father. All the while Zay and Maya were both laughing so hard they fell to the floor, Maya stood up and took a picture of Lucas.

“Nice to know that somethings never change,” Maya said as Riley’s heart was slamming against her ribs. “I’ll just send this along to Matthews and have him freak out because if there’s one constant thing in this world it’s that man freaking out over his daughter living her life.”

“Maya don’t send that to my dad please,” Riley said to her best friend who looked at her for a moment before clicking send. Riley groaned, until her phone pinged and she picked it up. “What I wasn’t going to be that mean because if you ever want to get your revenge I know Josh would end up in a body bag.”

“Oh god this is the most I’ve laughed in a long time,” Zay said once he picked himself off of the floor. “Maya send me the picture too.”

Riley smiled at her friends, somethings never changed, and she was happy about that at the moment.


	4. Episode Four – Girl Meets Old Friend

Riley’s third class of her first week was her writing class, she was excited because that meant that she was going to be able to write more than what she had before. One of the best things about the class is that it was a two-part class, so they were required to take the second one in the spring and in that class, they were supposed to write a novel. This was also the only class she had with one of her friends. Zay had decided to take it with her because it would satisfy a part of his minor requirements, and they talked about how they could both write the next great novel, but she knew that it was also something they could take together while everyone else took other classes. Maya, Farkle and Smackle had a history class together, Lucas had a class with Zay and Farkle in statistics, Smackle even had a class with Sam, but for Riley this was her only class with anyone she already knew.

“I’m so excited,” she said bouncing on her chair. Zay was sitting next to her and he looked at her and smiled, it was good that he was having happy moments, but she was still worried about him. She couldn’t help but worry, she worried about everyone it’s who she is.

“Stop bouncing around though,” he said trying to keep her down. “We’re only freshmen in a class full of upperclassmen.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said to him looking him in the eye. “We’re students just like everyone else here.”

Zay nodded at her, he was going to say something but was interrupted by someone nudging at Riley’s side. When she looked up she came face to face with another familiar face, one that she wouldn’t have imagined she would see again. Or at least for a long time.

“And here I thought that you would have gone to NYU,” he said, and Riley jumped up.

“Charlie,” she said as she looked into a familiar pair of blue eyes, his hair was longer than the last time she had seen him and he had gotten taller which put him in the same eyeline as Lucas. At the thought of Lucas, she was reminded of something that happened the last time she had seen Charlie during sophomore year.

“Well, well, well,” Zay said looking up at the two of them. “If it isn’t cheese soufflé.”

“Seriously I hate that nickname,” Charlie said before sitting down in the seat in front of Zay. “I really should have fought against it.”

“You wouldn’t have won,” Zay said to him smiling. “Maya is kinda powerful when it comes to making sure nicknames stick, why do you think she still calls Lucas Ranger Rick.”

“Anyway,” Riley said trying to change the topic from Maya’s use of nicknames, it was a running joke with Maya at this point. She had told Riley that she wanted to keep going with the nicknames because it meant that those people meant something in her life. Riley had a few nicknames, so did Lucas and Farkle, they had been the ones who had been around her the longest but lately Smackle has gotten a few and so has Zay. “What are you doing here?”

“I go to school here,” he said looking at her. “I mean that should be the obvious part.”

Zay laughed for a moment before holding back after she glared at him, “I meant why this school?”

“Well it’s close enough to home that I can visit but far enough away that I don’t have to be there, plus it meant that I could get away from my sisters, they’ve become holy terrors from the moment they heard I wanted to go to college.”

“Must be nice to be annoyed by siblings like that,” Zay said with a starry-eyed look on his face. Riley knew that he was an only child but the last time she had talked to Zay’s mother, before the she left for Texas with Lucas, she had told Riley that they were planning to adopt so that Zay could have a sibling and their family could grow. Zay’s mom wasn’t ready to have an empty nest, but it seemed as if she hadn’t told Zay just yet.

“Somedays it is but being the only boy in a house full of girls tends to get old fast,” Charlie answered Zay’s query with a smile at both of them. “Plus, I needed something new for once and this was the best place to try that out.”

“Do you have a major yet?” Riley asked him, she wanted to ask about his girlfriend but with Zay’s recent break up she wasn’t sure if he could handle another couple around him.

“I’m going to be a lawyer, ever since I joined the debate team in high school I realized that I’m good at arguing with people, plus I remember arguing with Friar a lot, although I didn’t win that one. Anyway, I’m majoring in criminal justice and history since the school doesn’t have a pre-law program, but pre-law is useless as a major according to my advisor.”

“Oh, we’re in the same program then,” Zay said perking up, this meant that he had someone to work with it was a good distraction Riley thought. She wanted him to be happy and not dwell on the past. “Why are you in this class then?”

“I wanted to take something that would help me with my writing, plus fiction is fun since my only other option was to take a class in math and I’m trying to avoid that right now. Also, who knows I could write a big novel and get enough money to pay for school.”

“Sounds like the dream man,” Zay said laughing before slapping Charlie on the back.

Class started soon after that, giving them very little time to talk as the professor talked them through the syllabus, the expectations of the class, and a million other things. They were in fact the only freshmen in the class, but no one treated them any differently, they were all there to fulfil some kind of credit requirement and that’s what mattered. They had been paired off in groups, the professor put the three of them together with upperclassmen but encouraged them all to work together until the end of the semester. They were only writing short stories, the big project being left off until the spring.

When class was over Zay ran off to his next class which was across campus, leaving Charlie and Riley behind on the steps of the building that housed the English and Com departments. Riley laughed as Zay waved at them before his footing missed a rock and he almost fell onto the grass. She was glad his spirits were up, but the worry over her friend still lingered and she wondered how he was dealing because he wouldn’t talk to anyone about the break up.

“So,” Charlie said pulling her out of her own thoughts. “Why not NYU?”

“I looked at a bunch of schools but in the end, I settled on this one because I liked the programs better. I guess I also got lucky because everyone else sort of followed me,” she said smiling thinking of her friends. “How about you? Where’s your girlfriend?” she was genuinely curious about where his relationship went since she had last seen him.

“I already told you why, but mostly it was cheaper than going away, and I didn’t want to burden my parents especially with how big our family is,” he said with a smile but he looked at the ground and she knew that something was happening in his head.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to tell me what happened with your girlfriend,” she said to him. It wasn’t a question it was a statement of fact and she knew it.

“Why do you and Friar work so well?” he asked her without looking into her eyes.

“Well we talk all of the time, it’s our thing we need to have those important conversations,” she said remembering the day they had gotten together. “I mean we have our problems, what couple doesn’t but in the end, we talk about them.”

Charlie sighed before walking towards the grassy area in front of the building and sitting down, she followed him because she knew that he needed someone to talk to. For some reason understanding people had become second nature in some ways, but even she missed things, everyone missed things every once and a while.

“Tell me,” she said as she sat down on the ground next to him, letting the sun warm her skin, never really looking at him because he wasn’t looking at her.

“She broke it off,” he said with a sigh. “Actually, she cheated on me with one of my teammates from the soccer team, I had found them one day after a game making out behind the bleachers at one of our rival schools.”

Riley felt powerless all of a sudden, there were so many broken hearts all around her and she couldn’t do a thing. “I’m sorry,” she said to him.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he ran his hand through his hair, it was weird to see it so long but it suits him. “I guess I need to live with the fact that things like this happen, but it happened months ago and it still hurts.”

“Well you have a friend right here if you need one,” she said even though she knew that Lucas would have a problem with it but she would deal with that when she told him about it.

“Are you sure,” Charlie said he eyes wide and she knew that he had been thinking the same thing.

Riley couldn’t help but laugh out loud, everyone knew her so well, they knew Lucas so well too, it was strange but in the end it was nice to have people around who understood her world.

“Yes, I’m sure, and I’ll talk to Lucas because we promised a long time ago not to keep secrets from one another.”

“If you say so,” he said before getting up off the ground and brushing the grass off of his pants. “Wanna go get some lunch?”

“Sure,” she said before shooting off a quick message to Lucas to join them. She didn’t warn him about Charlie being there, she wanted to find a way to introduce them to each other as her friend Charlie not a guy who may want to date her. Charlie knew that her relationship with Lucas meant the world to her, they had talked about this before, even though they haven’t seen one another in a while.

The two of them got their food and sat down at one of the empty tables and started talking, but after five minutes she felt him before she saw him. Lucas was a presence that she couldn’t ignore it was weird how attuned she was to him but she loved it so much as well.

“Hi Riley,” he said kissing her on the cheek before sitting down. “Gardner.”

“Be nice Lucas,” she said but when he smiled at her she was thrown for a bit.

“Don’t worry Riley,” he said with a smile. “We actually ran into each other in the dorms a while ago, but I told him not to say anything for now.”

“Uh why?” she asked looking between the two of them. “This isn’t a giant prank is it because I will kick you into next week if it is.”

“It’s not,” Charlie said to her giving her a smile. “We talked and said that we were going to try and be nice to one another, I mean there was a time when we thought that we could be friends so we’re going to try for that now.”

“So why not tell me that Charlie was here,” she said turning to Lucas.

“Because I knew that you needed a surprise of some kind,” Lucas said with a smile. “I know you want us all to be happy but sometimes you don’t get any surprises at all because you’re the one always in control of everything. So, I wanted you to have something that was out of your hands.”

“So, you’re okay with me and Charlie hanging out?”

“It’s fine Riley,” he said taking her hand and holding it against his chest just above his heart.

“I need to get away from all of this fluff,” Charlie said rolling his eyes. “Trust me Riley, after all of this time I realized that I don’t feel like that for you. It’s probably just so school boy crush, but what you two have I know is one in a million, so take care of it.”

“Actually,” Riley turned to him. “It’s not, it just takes a lot of work to get to where we are, and finding that one person who will make it worth it.”

“Well that’s a little too romantic for me right now,” Charlie said with a smile. “But I guess if I’m around you long enough I might find that too, if the track record with your friends is anything to say about it.”

At his words Riley felt awful because the one person who hadn’t had a good ending in a relationship was currently pushing himself to be happy around everyone. Charlie walked off soon after leaving Riley and Lucas alone, the two of them talked about their day before Riley went off to her next class. As she was walking home later that day, she found herself looking at a person sitting on a bench by themselves. It was still light enough out for her to see that it was Zay, but he wasn’t moving, he was just sitting there staring out into the distance. She sat down next to him and he didn’t acknowledge her presence, instead of saying anything she just sat there with him and waited.

“You know,” he said after the sun had set on the horizon. “I’ve been debating about whether I’m alright with any of what has been happening. I’m not struggling with school, it’s only the first week, but I’m struggling with my own life.”

“Do you blame me for any of this?” she asked him because she wasn’t sure what to think anymore.

“No,” he whispered. “I’m grateful for the time I had with Cassie, but I feel like a teenage romcom where I know this is supposed to make me stronger and the next person I meet will change my life.”

“But it still hurts, and life isn’t a movie.”

“Yes, but I need to go through this, and maybe whoever comes along in the future will give me something even more special than first love,” he smiled at her but his tears made it bittersweet. “I mean we can’t all have an epic romance.”

“We can, we just have to want it as much as the next person,” she said before taking his hand and holding onto it, it felt the same as when she held onto Auggie. Somehow Zay had become a part of her family. “Zay, remember no matter what you don’t have to go through this alone.”

“I won’t,” he said to her as he leaned back onto the bench. “I have you guys, I have my family, but somedays I think I just like finding myself looking out into the distance and thinking about the happy times.”

“I feel like we should have chocolate cake and ice cream, and watch extremely horrible movies,” she said trying to cheer him up.

“I wouldn’t mind the cake, but considering the last time something happened in our group that involved ice cream, well I might want to stay away from that,” he said before letting go of her hand and hugging her she was surprised by the sudden contact.

“I promise I won’t push it into your face,” she whispered.

“Okay, but can we go to your room, I don’t want the guys to know I feel like this.”

“It wouldn’t make you less of a man Zay,” she said to him before putting her arms around him and holding onto him for a little while. “But if that’s what you want we can do that.”

“Thanks Riley,” he said smiling at her. “No rom coms though.”

“How about I know exactly what we should watch then,” she said as she pulled away standing up. “Let’s go.”

When they got to her room, with two bags of ice cream and chocolate snack cakes, Sam was sitting on her bed staring out into the room like she didn’t know what she should be doing. Riley smiled and asked her to join them. They ended up watching the Maze Runner movies, because there’s very little if no romance at all in them, even though Zay swears that they messed up too much of the books, while Sam screamed out that Brenda was supposed to be immune. Riley wasn’t sure if she should yell at the movie like they were, so instead she filled up their drinks and handed out the last of the ice cream before it melted.

It was the first time she really hung out with her roommate, and while she still didn’t know a lot about the girl, she knew that they would be good friends if Sam could accept a random movie night without question. The three of them had passed out on the floor in front of the small television that was in the room. They had somehow built a fort around themselves and were under it without a care in the world.

“We should do that more often,” Sam said the next morning as they sat down for breakfast. It was only ten to eight but they were all happily eating eggs and pancakes. Zay wearing one of Lucas’s hoodies that Riley had stolen from him during senior year.

“I second that,” Zay said before shoving food into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten an entire bag of cake and ice cream the day before.

“I’m fine with it, but next time not on a school night, and we need more pillows,” Riley said, her back felt sore from being on the floor.

That’s how they ended up with Thursday night movies, just the three of them, or when one of the was feeling especially down they would get together. Charlie joined them the week after, because he found out his ex-girlfriend had a new boyfriend, Lucas joined them after that. Maya usually went to the city on the weekends to spend time with Josh, while the geniuses had started going to club meets on the same night. It was strange to be in a room where Maya wasn’t, but her best friend hadn’t complained about it so Riley let it go, making sure to add some Maya time to her week for days when she was on campus.


	5. Episode Five – Girl Meets College Parties

They were well into the first month of their semester when word went around about the first big party. Riley wasn't sure about parties just yet, she wasn't sure if she was ready for another one after the one that had happened during sophomore year of high school. This kind of party was different, it was a real college party, unlike the get together her and Maya had snuck off to in middle school when Maya was still trying to get Josh's attention.

"Are you going to go?" Sam asked as they walked through the quad towards the dining hall near the guy's dorm. They had better food on Thursdays as opposed to the one near their dorm which were serving some dish that she wasn't in the mood to try.

"Are you going?" Riley asked her back. Sam was older than Riley, her birthday was in January versus Riley's December birthday which seemed like a world apart.

"I want to, plus I want to see how people are," she said smiling. After getting to know Sam since the beginning of the semester she noticed that her roommate was smart but not awkward, she had become more social during the last few years of high school. If there's one thing Riley had learned about her roommate is that she liked to watch people, and that reminded her of crazy hat for some reason.

"You want to go to a party just so you can people watch?"

"Maybe, plus it gives me the chance to see how people are around each other, because honestly, I want to be in a relationship now," Sam said before she dramatically threw herself at Riley. "My mom can't dictate who I date so for once I would like to have a choice."

Riley smiled, as much as she would love to try and hook Sam up with someone she was not going to try that again for a while. "Any preferences?"

"Someone not Indian, I want to scare my mother," she said sticking her tongue out making Riley laugh. “Honestly my mother is very controlling even though she married someone who wasn’t Indian for her second marriage, but well with me she wants me to marry a good Indian doctor and she’s being very old fashion about it too. I mean don't you ever want to shake things up?"

"Not really," Riley answered with a shrug. "My dad is already afraid of Lucas, he chased him out of my bedroom window at least once a week since we met in middle school."

"Your dad chased your boyfriend out your bedroom window, why would he do that?" She said her eyes wide as if it were the strangest thing to hear.

Riley smiled thinking about each time it happened. "He did it because it was Lucas, no other reason at all."

Sam started laughing at her just as Zay and Charlie joined them on their walk, "What's so funny?" Zay said as they stood outside of the dining hall.

"I just told Sam about how my dad used to chase Lucas out of my room," Riley answered hoping that Zay wouldn't feed the story, but then she forgot who she was talking to. Charlie looked at her wide eyed as if he hadn't known about the stories, while Zay started laughing along with Sam before pulling her close and whispering something in her ear, which only made the two of them laugh harder.

"Do I want to know why these two look like they're going to fall over and die if they don't breathe anytime soon?" Lucas said as he put his arm around Riley's shoulder and kissed her on her temple.

"Apparently Mr. Matthews used to chase you out of Riley's room," Charlie said, his voice still filled with surprise as Sam and Zay laughed even harder.

"How is this news to anyone?" Lucas asked them, Riley shrugged her shoulders and Charlie still looked confused at what was happening.

It took Zay and Sam a minute before they stopped laughing, Zay had patted Lucas's shoulder before turning to Charlie. "Matthews took his shoes too," he said which only made Lucas groan.

"He took your shoes," Charlie said, Riley was sure that part of the rumor had gone around a few times, but in the end Zay hadn't shared that with anyone at all until now.

"Leave them," Riley said as her stomach growled. "I'm starving and if we keep talking about this I'm not going to be able to eat at all."

Riley pulled Lucas away trying to get closer to the dining hall, while Zay told Sam about her father, Charlie looking at her horrified because he hadn’t known the extent of her father’s overprotectiveness. Her father’s life lessons had been a joke to some of the students growing up, not because it helped them but because everyone knew that in some way it was tied to whatever Riley or her friends were going through. Most of the time it stemmed from what Riley had going on in her life.

“You know,” Charlie said when they were on the buffet line. “I always thought it was a joke when we went to school together.”

“It wasn’t,” Riley sighed looking over at the food and finding what she wanted.

“But the whole shoe thing that’s a little excessive,” Charlie said looking over at Lucas before turning his attention back to Riley. “Isn’t it?”

“My father once told me that when he was dating my mom, that my grandfather had said that he had never been afraid of him, he had been more afraid of my uncle Shawn, when he should have been afraid of my father.”

“So, what he decided that whoever you showed any interest in that that person was the one he should have been afraid of?’ Charlie asked her and all she could do was nod.

“Uncle Shawn was wild and out there, but my mother never had feelings for him other than a brother sister kind of bond, so when my dad saw how I reacted to Lucas, well from day one he was sure that this was what my grandfather was talking about.”

“So, when we were, well sort of dating,” Charlie looked at her as if a realization had come forward. “He wasn’t afraid of me was he, because he knew I wasn’t the one you wanted.”

“Hit the nail on the head there Gardner,” Lucas said with a sigh and Riley gave him a small smile.

“Wow, no wonder he had been happier when Friar was out of the picture during that time,” Charlie sighed before patting Lucas’s arm. “I’m sorry I hadn’t understood any of this when we were in middle school.”

“No worries, as long as you don’t do anything now we’re good,” Lucas said and Riley snorted as she walked away from them and headed towards the salad bar.

She knew that Charlie wasn’t going to try anything now, it was weird to see how much they’ve all changed over the years, once the understanding of it all settled into their lives. Lucas was to her, what her mother was to her father. She had heard the stories of her parents over the years but the realization hit her the most at that moment. That to find real love, the friendship and respect they have for one another must be at the center of it all. They worked towards it, and while they had their hardest moment together, there was still so much more that they needed to work through to get to the level of love that her parents had.

\------

The next day, after doing hours of homework, and having Sam throw every article of clothing at her until she was satisfied with her outfit. They were ready to go to the party, which still felt strange, especially without Maya or Farkle coming with her. Both of them had gone back into the city, Farkle and Smackle had a big charity function that his parents had wanted him to go to, and Maya had left before Riley could even ask her about the party, sending her a message about spending the weekend with her parents and Josh since it was close to her parents’ anniversary, at least from when they had started dating.

Riley looked at herself in the mirror, she was wearing a ridiculously short dress that Sam had thrown at her. On Sam the dress was a little longer, but since Riley was taller the dress was mid-thigh and all she could think about was Lucas freaking out on her.

“Are you sure this isn’t too short?” Riley said looking at herself as she turned three and then another four times.

“Listen Riley, you have a nice figure, and a great ass, flaunt it,” Sam said before handing her a pair of heels that would put Riley at Lucas’s eyeline. “Don’t second guess this and just put them on. Leave your hair down though.”

Riley sighed, Sam was smiling at her as if trying to encourage her in the same way that Maya had often tried to. “Fine,” she said before sitting on her bed and strapping on the shoes.

Lucas, Charlie and Zay were waiting in front of the building when they had walked out, and Riley couldn’t help but see how Lucas’s eyes had gone wide at her outfit. She watched him closely waiting for him to freak out, but she saw how his throat moved as he swallowed his own saliva before his ears turned just a little shade of pink.

“I’ve done my job,” Sam said before walking over to Charlie and Zay, Zay had given her a high five as Lucas walked over to Riley.

“Hey,” he said and she couldn’t stop the smile.

“Hi,” she replied.

“No not this again,” Zay groaned before pulling Lucas down the steps of the dorm. “If they start on that hey, hi, hey thing we’ll never get anywhere and honestly I just want to dance the night away.”

Riley laughed and Lucas looked up at her with a small smile, she couldn’t be happier at that moment because Zay knew them so well. As they walked towards the row of houses, where the fraternities were, and where the party was going to be held, Lucas took her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“You look fantastic,” he whispered in her year making her smile at him.

“Are you sure this isn’t too much? I mean Sam picked it out so I wasn’t sure if it was alright, and I’m not sure about the dress honestly,” she rambled on to him.

“Riley,” he said to her stopping just outside the house. “You look perfect, and I’m pretty sure that Sam was just taking Zay’s advice anyway because he kept talking about how my jaw would drop the moment I saw you.”

“They were working together on this?” she asked him before looking at the rest of their little group standing on the top steps of the house where the party was.

“I think they just wanted the night to be fun,” Lucas said as they began to walk forward. “Also, I think Zay is trying to distract himself by using us in a way. I know he’s still hurting, especially since Cassie went radio silent on all of her social media pages, but he won’t talk about it.”

“Oh,” she sighed realizing that Zay wasn’t going to be fixed overnight. “Let’s just have some fun tonight, and make sure he does too.”

Lucas nodded before letting go of her hand and putting his on the small of her back as they walked up the stairs. The moment they walked into the house, her favorite Beyoncé song came on, and her and Sam giggled before breaking away from the guys to dance in the middle of the dance floor. Every once and a while a group of guys would come up to them, trying to dance with her or Sam or the both of them. Riley always pushed them away because she just wanted to have fun and not deal with advances from other guys. They had been dancing for half an hour before she realized that she didn’t know where Lucas was, she hoped that he was trying to help Zay, after another fifteen minutes had passed, and another three guys had tried to get close Riley had pushed away from the dance floor and went looking for Lucas.

She had found him scowling at one of the most recent group of guys that had come up to her before taking a drink from a red cup. She knew the look in his eyes, it was a mix of his jealous side and his Texas side. It seemed as if he were trying to figure out whether he was going to hit someone or scowl at them. Instead he took another drink from his cup, and then made a face when he realized it was empty. Looking around she saw that Charlie and Zay had found Sam and the three of them were dancing together, so she didn’t want to ruin their good mood by telling them that Lucas was on the verge of fighting a group of guys that she was certain, were older than him by a few years.

Instead she walked up to him and placed her hand on his arm, trying to calm him down a little, but he turned the scowl towards her and she wasn’t sure about his anger. His eyes were a little sad and he smelled like cheap beer.

“Are you okay?” she asked him never taking her hand off of his arm.

“I don’t know,” he sighed before looking at her hand. “I was so happy watching you dance around at first, you looked so happy but then all of those guys kept going up to you and I wanted to punch them.”

“Why didn’t you come and dance with me then,” she said to him, trying to be quiet even though the music was so loud she couldn’t really think.

“I don’t know, I kept thinking why is she with me if all of these guys want to be with her,” he said to her and she could tell that at some point he had started drinking because he didn’t want her to know about his feelings.

They were both insecure in their relationship, but they worked at it, they talked, but sometimes something slipped in and hurt one of them.

“Come on,” she said before taking his hand and pulling him towards the dance floor.

The song wasn’t a slow one, it was loud and everyone around them was jumping up and down, but she put her arms around his shoulders and slowly swayed side to side with him before giving him a quick kiss. The shoes really did put her in his eyeline which made being this close to him so much more intimate than she would have thought. They were really growing up if thoughts about their relationship turned into intimacy.

She hadn’t known just how long they had held onto one another, swaying side to side, people all around them dancing, drinking, or just talking. They were in their own little world and it was perfectly fine even though they had come as a group.

“Walk me home,” she asked him after what felt like an eternity, Lucas nodded before finding Zay and telling him that they were leaving. Zay had given them a thumbs up, promising to take Sam home when him and Charlie left.

The walk back to her dorms was much shorter than the walk had been to the party, but every once and a while Lucas swayed one way or another. She hadn’t realized just how much he had had to drink until they had made it to her room and he rushed off to the bathroom. Riley sighed, thinking that she needed to keep a closer eye on him whenever they went out because she worried about him the most. She changed out of her clothes and into something more comfortable before looking for one of Lucas’s sweaters and pulling it out so he could change. When he came back he still looked a little green, his face was damp, the water dripping down from his hair. Riley handed him a towel some mouthwash and his sweater, giving him a small smile.

“Thanks,” he said before stripping off his shirt without a second thought, making her blush.

“If you want you can lay down on my bed until you feel better,” she offered knowing that outside of a night under the stars and that one day during sophomore year, the two of them hadn’t really slept in the same bed. Even those two times they had been on the ground so they had never slept in the same bed at all.

Lucas nodded and she climbed onto her bed before putting one of her pillows on her lap and patting her hands on top of it for him to lay down.

“Are you sure,” asked and she nodded.

When he settled his head on her lap she couldn’t help but run her fingers through his hair, the strands were soft, but he hadn’t had a hair cut in a while and she wondered if he was going to keep it this long. They hadn’t said a word to one another, and after a little while she had noticed that he had fallen asleep, with his arms around her waist. She thought back to the party and the sad look in his eyes, the hint of jealous every time he saw one of the guys that had gotten close to her always afraid that someone was going to take her away. They still had a lot of work to do in their relationship, but she knew this, relationships took time. There were going to be times where she was afraid, and he would comfort her, those times had actually come and gone.

She was going to savor the moments where they were both happy, and when the bad times came she would be there for him. Lucas murmured an I love you into her stomach, making her laugh before attempting to pull him away and kissing his forehead. She moved herself so that he was up against the wall and turned towards him and held him close. That’s where Sam, Zay, and Charlie had found them the next morning, banging on the door telling them to get up for breakfast. Lucas hungover, throwing pillows at their friends before snuggling closer to Riley making the group laugh.


	6. Episode Six – Girl Meets Greek Week

Riley went off to Maya and Smackle’s dorm room on Monday, after not seeing them for a while she felt guilty. She felt the same way with Farkle, ever since they started school she barely saw any of them and they were her friends. But their schedules, their lives all went along different paths. So, when she saw the flyers for Greek Week she thought back to that one time in middle school when she pledged, by accident anyway, for Gamma Gamma Nu. She thought about how fun it would be for them to do something like that together even if they never actually pledged to join. She knocked on their door for five minutes before walking away, they weren’t home, and she was sure that neither of them had a class at the time.

Sighing she went back to her dorm only to stop short when she saw a familiar car waiting in the parking lot. “Dad,” she said walking up to her father’s car. “What are you doing here?”

“Well Maya visited Shawn over the weekend and I thought I should come up here and see you,” he said smiling at her.

“You couldn’t have called? Or waited until this weekend?” she asked him wondering why he was coming over now.

“It’s a holiday week Riley,” he said as if it answered everything.

“No dad, it’s a holiday week for you,” she sighed and sat down on the ground. All she wanted to do was to see her friends and make up for lost time and instead she got a surprise visit from her father.

“How about we get lunch before I head back then,” he said with a smile. “You can show me around, tell me about your favorite places, your classes.”

“Okay,” she said glad that this wasn’t the type of visit where he would try to stay around for longer than a few hours. “Let me go get my sweater from my room first.”

Her father was smiling as they walked into the dorm, some of her neighbors were talking in the hallways, others were running around savoring the warm weather, even with the wind. Sam was in class, and they were going to check out some of the sororities afterwards. When she opened the door her father walked in without her prompting and started looking around. Lucas had slept over a few days before but lately she kept things for him in her room, a spare tooth brush, and extra shirt, socks. He did the same for her whenever they had a movie night at his place, or when they wanted to have dinner together. Last time it had been pouring and they had been caught in the storm near her room so he had been happy to have gotten a change of clothes.

They only ever cuddled, deciding that when they were ready for that next step they would discuss it. These were things she should have planned for when it came to her father. He wouldn’t have known anything, except Lucas had left his shirt on her bed the other day and she had let it fall to the floor when she had been rushing off to breakfast, forgetting to pick it up afterwards. Her father was staring at the shirt, a plain blue t-shirt, one that she loved on Lucas because it brought out his eye color.

“Your room looks nice,” he said staring at the shirt and nothing else.

“Daddy,” she said looking at him. “You okay there?”

Before he father could say anything the door to her room opened and in walked Lucas with a laundry bag in his hand. “You,” her father screamed out before Lucas dropped the bag and ran off, her father chasing him.

Riley sighed before bending down and picking up Lucas’s shirt and putting it in his laundry bag, Lucas always made sure to get all of his things before going to the laundry room. Just like she liked the dining hall near his dorm, he liked the laundry room in hers. They liked stupid things like that, and it was weirdly domestic of them too. Dialing her mother’s number she looked around her room for anything else Lucas might have left behind.

“I told him not to go up there,” her mother answered and Riley knew it was going to be that kind of day. “I’m not far from your school so I’ll come and get him.”

“It’s fine really mom, I know he misses me I get daily messages from him, but I was trying to find Maya and Smackle when I ran into him,” she sighed into the phone.

“Is something wrong Riley?” her mother asked and Riley didn’t know what to say.

“You remember how you told me that sometimes friendships have their problems, and that sometimes someone you’ve been friends with for a long time might not be there in the future,” she said thinking about how it’s been for her relationship with Maya, Smackle, and Farkle the first month of college.

“Riley I’m pulling up to your building I’ll be there in a minute,” her mother said before hanging up. Another minute passed before her mother walked in through the door. “What’s wrong honey?”

“Other than the fact that I haven’t seen Maya in what feels like forever,” she said before laying down on her bed.

“I saw Maya this weekend when she visited,” her mother said before a looked crossed her face. “Maya’s been in the city almost every weekend since school started.”

Riley didn’t know that, for some reason it had all been a little weird, her life was going great, she had Lucas, Zay, Charlie and Sam but half of her friends were still missing.

“Is it weird that you’ve seen her more than I have?” she asked wondering why it was so weird.

“No, but then again she’s dealing with a lot as well, I mean Josh is faraway and you have Lucas nearby, she might actually just be trying to rise to a different level, send her a message and set up some time to hang out,” her mother said and Riley knew she was right.

“Okay, I guess we’ve just been so busy that we haven’t had the chance to actually talk and now all of these things have been happening so we’ll have a lot to talk about,” she said with a smile. In the end the one person she needed to talk to about all of this was her mother.

“So, do I want to know why your father was chasing Lucas?” her mother asked her after a minute had passed.

“Well… um Lucas and I have been having sleepovers… nothing sexual just movie nights, study dates type of things and Lucas had left his shirt behind because he had gotten caught in the rain and it was drying and all but dad saw the shirt on the floor because I’ve been stealing Lucas’s sweaters, so he had a change of clothes here and well…”

“Your father saw the shirt,” her mother sighed. “He’ll get tired soon, he’s been working out lately so it might take a little longer.”

“Why has he been working out?”

“Well Lucas was his only real exercise, and when you both left he wanted to get in shape so he joined a gym and goes at least three times a week.”

Riley couldn’t help but laugh at that, her father misses Lucas, it’s the only reason why he would go as far as to join a gym. “So, you’re not mad about Lucas sleeping over?” she asked after she had stopped laughing.

“Not really, I mean you’re still seventeen, but you two talk about everything before you do it so I know you’ll both wait to do anything too major, just wait a while at least.”

“I will wait mom,” she said before putting her head on her mother’s shoulder. “And thanks for being there when I needed you.”

Her father had gotten back to her room twenty minutes later breathing hard and mumbling about boys and his daughter, if he could she would be locked up in a tower for the rest of her life. Instead she had lunch with her parents before they drove back to the city, her mother lecturing him about popping in on his daughter without prior knowledge. Riley sent a message to both Maya and Smackle asking them to join her for one of the Greek Week pledge days so they could hang out and both of them replied quickly. It made Riley realize just how much time they had spent apart and how much she missed her friends.

They had decided on going to the Thursday events, after Riley’s classes, but Maya had stopped by several times for breakfast and to talk. Riley had felt stupid for thinking anything had been different in their relationship. They had just both been incredibly busy.

That’s how they had all found themselves at one of the many parties with pledges running around laughing and having fun. There were solo cups all over the place, one of the houses across the street was also having a party at the same time. That’s where the guys were, they had promised to check in later on having girls’ night on one side and guys night on the other.

“This feels ridiculous, why are we here again?” Maya asked as they walked in making their way towards the place where the head of the house was making announcements.

“I thought it would be fun to check it out Maya,” Riley said smiling. They were at the school’s chapter for Gamma Gamma Nu, the same sorority that she had accidentally pledged for back in middle school.

“It is an interesting thing to watch,” Smackle said looking around at all of the people milling about. “It’s like an experiment on how people socialize, I can write a paper on this for one of my classes.”

“Smackle is talking science, this can’t be good,” Maya said before walking off towards the drinks table. Riley sighed she didn’t know what to do or what has been happening, so she followed Maya leaving Smackle behind to watch people.

“Sorry,” Riley said as she reached Maya. “It’s just that we haven’t seen each other in a while and I guess I picked the first thing I could think of.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Maya said inspecting the table before settling on a drink. “I actually miss you, but I guess we’ve all been busy.”

“Maya, do you think that college is going to change our friendship,” Riley said to her best friend, but she had been looking at the ground when she had said it. She missed how Maya’s eyes went wide with the realization that something had in fact happened over the time that they hadn’t spoken. “I’m probably just over thinking all of this.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Maya said before leaning up against a wall and looking out into the crowd. “Let’s have some fun tonight and make plans for the weekend. I mean I don’t have to go see Josh this weekend.”

“As much as I would like that, I know how much you miss him even if we don’t talk as much as we normally do,” Riley said finally looking up at Maya and smiling at her. “Let’s just make it a rule to text more if we’re going to be super busy.”

“Okay,” she said, Maya hadn’t thought about how their friendship had been suffering from college, she tried to think back to the last time that the two of them had had a real conversation and nothing came up. She didn’t know when it had happened, and now that it was on her mind she wasn’t sure how to fix it.

“Also, we should probably grab Smackle before she does something too crazy,” Riley said looking to where Smackle was essentially interviewing people in the house.

The two of them laughed and it seemed to Riley like what she had been worried about had just been a groundless feeling, Maya was still there for her. All Riley needed to do was send her a message and it would be like nothing had separated them. The two of them grabbed Smackle, apologizing to the pledges before pulling the genius out of the house and heading towards the quad. There was a café there that stayed open late for the students and Riley had figured it would be better to hang out like they had when they had gone to her mother’s café. They talked about their classes, and about home, Riley had Maya catch her up on everything happening between her and Josh, and what it’s like living with Smackle.

“Give me a sec,” she said as her phone started going off. “Hello,” she answered without looking at who had been calling.

“Riley,” Zay had said from the other side of the phone, his voice was off for some reason. “Why does love hurt,” a hiccup followed by Zay slurring made her worried about him even more.   
Why does it hurt so much?”

“Zay where’s Lucas,” she said standing up forgetting about the fun she had just been having with Maya and Smackle, she had been so worried about Zay over the last couple of weeks but she was sure that he had been fine. Now she wasn’t so sure of anything.

“I don’t know,” he said before she heard someone talk in the background, she knew that he was still at the party. Without a backwards glance she left the café and ran as fast as she could while talking on the phone.

“Zay, are you alright,” she said her voice huffing as she kept going.

“No,” he whispered in her ear, the music in the background making it sound even more distant that it should have been. “I just miss her.”

Riley knew that she had to get to him, she felt her heart drop at how wrecked he sounded over the phone. “Don’t worry Zay,” she said to him. “I’m going to get to you and we’re going to find a way to make everything better.”

She wasn’t sure what would make everything better, she wasn’t sure about anything other than making sure that he was alright. When she reached the house, she saw a worried Lucas walking around the front yard trying to call someone.

“Have you seen Zay,” he said the moment he saw her.

“I’m on the phone with him,” she said to him before taking his hand. “He doesn’t sound too good right now.”

“They were hazing people and I thought that we should get out of here, but I hadn’t realized that Zay had gone missing and I can’t find him,” Lucas said his voice filled with worry.

Riley remember hearing about fraternities hazing new recruits, some of the charters condemned it but it seemed as if that house was one that hadn’t and from the sound of it Zay had taken part in it.

“You look in the house,” she said to Lucas trying to put together a game plan in her head. “I’ll check the yard, we’ll meet up in five minutes.”

Lucas nodded before walking off leaving her in the front yard, the phone in her hand had gone silent and when she looked at it her screensaver had lit up the screen. She tried calling Zay back as she walked around the front yard towards the back, but the phone kept going to voicemail so she walked into the backyard where people were talking and drinking. Not far from where she stood she saw a group of pledges with funnels while drinks were being poured into their mouths.

It was in that back corner, where she saw him slumped over near the shed in the back, rushing over she called Lucas before dropping her phone and kneeling next to Zay. She picked up his face and held it in her hand calling out his name, but he didn’t wake up. He smelled of nothing but alcohol and smoke, some of the people around them had been smoking something.

“That one was weak,” someone said towards her. “He couldn’t drink to save his life.”

Riley was angry, most likely the majority of the people there were underage and they had all been drinking, so for them to let him drink to the point where he was passed out and left alone like this was too much for her to handle. She remembered reading about alcohol poisoning and did the first thing she could remember. Checking him, she whispered in his ear that she was going to touch him, even if he doesn’t know it’s her. Rolling him on his side she did the only thing she could think of and that was to make sure that he didn’t vomit and accidentally let it into his lungs.

“Riley what are you doing,” Lucas asked as he got to her.

“He’s been drinking, and apparently their solution was to leave him here,” she said before Zay started throwing up on the lawn. Watching him made her gag but she held it in make sure that Zay was on his side. “You need to call an ambulance Lucas,” she said to him while she listened to Zay cough out the last of what had come out.

Lucas nodded at her and called 911, while she rubbed Zay’s back whispering in his ear, “You’re going to be alright,” even when she was afraid that she was doing something wrong.

The sirens flashed around them before she could even hear them, it was strange almost like she was having an out of body experience. This wasn’t something that she thought could happen to someone she cared about. The paramedics pulled her away before getting to Zay, she could feel herself shaking after watching someone she loved getting put on a gurney and being pulled away. The police had arrived at the same time, so half the party had turned into chaos as people began running in all directions. All the while, Lucas and Riley stood there not knowing what to do.

“Let’s go with them,” Lucas had said in her ear but she couldn’t hear him, it felt as if there was cotton muffling the sounds.

They spoke to the police, telling them what had happened, Riley hadn’t drunk anything other than coffee, Lucas only had a bottle of water, they had only gone so that they could have some time with their friends but it ended like this and that hurt more than anything she could have imagined. The officers had dropped them off at the hospital, Lucas immediately called Zay’s parents while Riley talked to the nurses at the desk.

“What did they say,” Lucas asked when they were both sitting in the waiting area.

“He’s going to be fine,” she said softly, she was afraid that her voice would break if she spoke any louder. The words hadn’t stopped the tears from falling, Lucas put his arm around her to comfort her but they both didn’t know what to do, and they knew that it was going to be a long night for both of them as they worried about Zay.


	7. Episode Seven – Girl Meets the Art of Letting Go

Riley had been the one sitting in the room when Zay had woken up, she had been the one to drag him to his therapy sessions when he had wanted to stay in his room. It had become a game of tug of war with him and somedays she was tired of it, but she never gave up. That’s how they ended up locked in his and Lucas’s room watching television, two weeks after the incident. Lucas had to go to class, but they had made sure that someone was always with Zay because the moment he finally talked to someone they needed to be there. No one else knew why Riley and Lucas stayed so close to him, they had decided in the hospital that it was for Zay to tell their friends. So of course, everyone found it strange when the couple stayed so close to him.

“I’m sorry,” Zay said while they watched an old episode of Cuddle Bunnies. Riley didn’t know how to react, instead she waited to see if he said anything else, when he stayed quiet she looked over to him and took his hand.

“Zay,” she said quietly. “I know you are hurting, but you could have talked to us, at least told us that something was wrong.”

He sighed before turning his body towards her and looking her in the eyes for the first time since he got out of the hospital. “I started drinking at those parties,” he said to her. “You and Lucas usually left early, I knew it wasn’t your scene but you guys came with us anyway. But when you weren’t there I let go a little, it made the pain less real.”

There was a dark look in his eyes as he told her this, “I suddenly felt like I wasn’t that guy anymore, waiting for her to call or show up, I just let it happen. Lucas didn’t know because I only drank enough to have a hangover but it just looked like I was being a little lazy in the mornings. But that day,” he sighed looking at his hands. “That day I knew it was finally over and it just hurt.”

Riley hadn’t had a chance to speak to Cassie since she had left, the phone number hadn’t worked and all of her friend’s social media profiles had stayed silent. It had been nearly three months since they’d said anything to one another, but she could tell from the look in Zay’s eyes that something had changed.

“She started dating some guy she met down there, and I almost lost it on her, as if she could move on and not feel anything,” he continued telling Riley. “Her mom is in remission again, but they’re not coming back, and so when I saw the relationship status change and that first picture pop up it just hurt so much.”

“That was something you shouldn’t have gone through alone,” she said to him before pulling him into her arms in the same way she used to do with Auggie whenever he had needed a hug. Zay was like a brother to Lucas, and for Riley he was as well, so when one of them hurt they all did. When Zay pulled away she knew that he needed this, he needed to have the moment to put all his cards down and face the world.

“That’s the thing though, I wanted to deal with it on my own, I wanted to grow out of that puppy love, but then I would see how you and Lucas are and I wish for it so much that the pain just grows from there.”

“Zay you know better than any of us that Lucas and I have our own set of problems, we’re not a perfect couple it’s just that we try to keep it together.”

“Riles, you and Lucas have something special, I see it in the way he looks at you like sunshine only came out of you, you look at him like he hung the moon in the sky just so you could see it. And I wanted that.”

“But what about Josh and Maya, or Smackle and Farkle, they’ve been in relationships as long as we have,” she said to him but Zay shook his head.

“It’s not the same,” he said to her and she wasn’t sure what he meant by it. “The geniuses love each other I can give you that, but they would work with other people just as well.”

“That’s not true,” she said, she knew that Smackle had liked Farkle for a long time, it had just taken Farkle a while to realize that. “It’s just that their version of love is different, they’re different.”

“I can understand that, but Maya and Josh had their problems, hell I was stuck in the middle of it.”

“Yes, but again different from me and Lucas, and remember Maya had been in the triangle with us, Lucas could have easily picked her years ago.”

“But he didn’t,” he said smiling at her. “He wouldn’t have, maybe if he had been in Texas, who knows, but for that boy it has always been you.”

She could feel her cheeks burning at the words, Lucas and her have always had a different kind of relationship, but she knew that somehow they would find a way to one another even if they had had decided to be friends all those years ago.

“You’ll find that one day,” she told him, before he could shake his head Riley put her hands on his shoulders and smiled. “Trust me Zay, it will happen you just haven’t met the right person yet.”

Riley let go of her friend and stood up, walking over to where the pictures of Cassie hung on the wall, Zay had kept them as his own little beacon of hope. His someday. The first thing she did was pull them down one by one, digging around for a box to put them in.

“What are you doing?” he said quickly getting up off the bed and rushing over. “Don’t do that.”

“Zay you need to let go and the best way to do that is to take them down, and probably burning them to the ground, but since we can’t start a fire we can just bury them,” she said pulling down everything she could reach before turning to him. “It’s time to let go of the past.”

“But what if I don’t want to,” he whispered as he looked at one of the photos, his eyes sad, which was unlike him. Riley had always thought that he was one of the brightest people in her life.

“You have to Zay,” she said before taking all of the pictures and putting them in the first thing she could find, an old shoe box that had been under Lucas’s bed. “Now let’s go, we have a drive to make and honestly we need Lucas because he has a car.”

“And where are we going?”

“Home, we’re going to take everything out including what you have at home, we’re going to do what girls in movies do when they’re getting over a break up, we’re going to gather everything, put it in a box and bury it in your backyard.”

Zay sighed before grabbing his phone and sending a message to Lucas, Riley made him gather anything else that reminded him of Cassie so that by the time Lucas showed up they were ready. Lucas had given her a small smile as they walked towards the car, both of them standing on either side of Zay.

“You know if you’re going to make goo goo eyes at one another I could leave,” Zay said but Lucas grabbed his friend and pushed him forward.

“We’re going to help you because it’s what you would do for anyone of us,” Lucas said as they reached his car.

During the drive down to the city, Riley played sad break up songs for the occasion while slowly moving them towards the you’ll get over them songs. None of them spoke during the drive, letting the music flow through the car. They stopped once to pick up a container like the one they had buried the time capsule in, before driving to Zay’s house.

“She lived right over there,” he said pointing out Cassie’s house from the front stoop of his, he sighed for a moment before squaring his shoulders and walking inside.

Zay hadn’t seen his parents since he ended up in the hospital, he had felt like he had disappointed them, but the moment they walked through the door his mother had gone up to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug.

“Hey there, my baby boy,” she said and he knew that everything would be alright.

With his mother’s help the four of them took everything out that had a reminder of Cassie, including a sweater that belonged to Zay that she had occasionally borrowed. Before going to the back yard and digging a hole deep enough for the box to be buried in. No one said a word, they all just stared as Zay buried the memories of his former life into the ground. Once he was done he looked back at them and gave them a small smile before walking back towards the house. They followed him leaving enough room so that he wouldn’t feel as if they were crowding him

When they reached the kitchen, they saw that his mother had made a proper southern dinner, fried chicken, mac and cheese, even his grandmother’s cookies. Comfort food, and family. On the table were a set of blue folders, when Zay looked up at his mother confused she pulled him towards the table and opened the first folder. On it was a picture of a dog from the nearby shelter, she smiled at him before moving to the next folder which had a picture of a little girl who looked no older than five staring back at him.

“Your father and I are adopting,” she said with a smile. “You’re going to have a baby sister, so I need you to stay healthy, and happy because I can’t bear to lose you right when we’re so close to getting her.”

Lucas smiled at his best friend, while Riley hung onto him, she had known the secret for a while now, but the look of happiness on Zay’s face made her think that this is just what he needed in his life.

“I’m going to be a brother?” Zay said in surprise.

“Yes, you are,” his mother answered.

Zay knew at that moment, that although life was hard, and you go through so much, there are always people there to help you. There were always people there to help, all he had to do was let go of the pain he had been holding onto and move forward. The pain would dull itself overtime, even if the memories never faded, but he would hold onto the good ones, and when the time came he would be able to look back on them and remember that even though he had been in pain he had once loved a person who had loved him back. Hopefully the next person he let into his life would love him as much, maybe even more than the last.


	8. Episode Eight – Girl Meets World of Terror 6

In the distance a small television turns on, the screen is nothing but static noise in the background. There’s no one in this single room, the walls draped in tapestries of red and gold, but yet in all of its beauty there’s only the small television at the center. It flickers, once… twice… before the screen turns to another room. That room in black and white, as a young boy appears on the screen.

“Welcome to another Halloween Scary Time Theater,” says the boy dressed in a suit his hair a mess of curls on his head. “Today we will see three stories that will terrify you, and haunt your very dreams,” he said laughing. “What happens when sleep is something that alludes the mind, or when you can no longer wake from you slumber, or when someone tries to steal a sleeping prince.”

The young boy walks towards the screen of the black and white television until he forms in full color in the room that is draped in red and gold.

“My name is Auggie Matthews and I will be your host tonight,” smiling at his audience as he walked towards the back of the room. “I dare you to keep watching,” he said with a smile as he walked out of the room through a hidden door behind one of the drapes.

* * *

Farkle had been up for two days straight trying to finish his midterm project for his advanced computer science class, and for some reason he couldn’t find the right solution to the problem and it bothered him. Everyone told him that he needed to get some sleep, but he ignored them and continued to work, he finished on the morning of his third day awake. And when he tried to go to bed, his body was too wired to fall asleep. Frustrated he stood up and walked across campus to his girlfriend’s dorm, hoping that she would have some way to help him sleep.

Weakly knocking on the door, he rested his head against the cool wood, his eyes were heavy, his body felt like lead, and he wasn’t sure how he managed to make it across campus at all.

“My love,” Smackle said as she answered her door looking him up and down. “Why haven’t you slept?”

She knew him so well, they had been together for years and she had his mannerisms memorized, but he couldn’t speak, his was so tired that everything felt as if it were going in slow motion and he had no control of it. Pulling him into the room she settled him on a chair and ran her fingers through his hair, the motion soothing his wandering mind.

“You need to sleep my love,” she said to him before kissing him on his forehead.

“I’ve tried, but the bed was uncomfortable, and honestly, my mind keeps wandering to a million other applications for my project,” he said leaning into her as she continued to rub his scalp.

Farkle knew how uncomfortable his girlfriend was with emotions, with people, but when it was just the two of them she was happy and comfortable. It had taken her years to feel that way and he knew that one day in the future she would be comfortable enough with her surroundings that she wouldn’t revert to her old awkward self. Even though he liked that part of her, and constantly wished she would never change. She had told him once after he had told her this that even if she became more comfortable with the world, she wouldn’t change herself for anyone.

“Come on, let’s go see what plagues your mind,” she said pulling him up off the chair before grabbing her jacket and pulling him out the door.

They didn’t talk as they walked back towards his dorm, he leaned against her as he walked, his body beginning to feel heavy. Not sure if he was going to make it to his room, he could feel the weight of the world on him, but she continued to move him forward, rubbing his back in small soothing circles. Once they reached the room she took in the state of his room, before settling him on the chair by his desk before pulling everything out from the top of his bed, but there wasn’t anything there, and yet the bed had been uncomfortable for him.

He watched as she remade the bed before picking up the mattress and seeing the mountain of computer parts under the bed on top of the containers where he kept his supplies, some of the parts had been standing on their ends poking up into the mattress right under where he normally slept. She pulled each one out until they were no longer under his bed, he felt like laughing because it was almost as if it had been something out of a fairy tale.

Smackle pulled him off the chair and towards the bed, turning off as many lights a possible until the room had been plunged into darkness. Once he was under the comforter the bed felt like a marshmallow, nothing was poking out from under the bed like a monster trying to keep him awake. Instead of leaving him alone she laid down next to him while running her fingers through his hair until he fell asleep.

* * *

“Can you imagine, a computer part sticking up and keeping you awake,” Auggie said as he walked through a room filled with nothing but paintings of his own face. “But what happens if the person who fell asleep can no longer wake up, what if the only way they can wake up comes from a kiss.”

He makes his way through the room before stopping at a picture of himself from six years ago. “Who would wake a sleeping person with true loves kiss? I wonder, and so should you,” he finished before walking out of the room.

* * *

Maya watched as Josh slept, he boyfriend had become an insomniac as he worked through the applications for his master’s degree, and finished up his semester at NYU. They were in the hospital after Josh collapsed from overworking himself, but she had begun to worry after he hadn’t woken up after twelve hours. The doctors telling her that he was fine, that he was catching up on sleep after being awake for nearly a week.

She hadn’t been there to tell him to slow down, having to deal with her own midterms and papers, she hadn’t seen him in nearly two weeks and had missed him like something fierce. But they had both been busy and only had enough time to message each other at random times.

“He’s done this before,” Mr. Matthews said as he sat down next to her. “I think him and Riley both have some kind of bet going to see how long the other can stay awake the longest.”

“That’s a lie because Riley’s always in bed by ten,” she said thinking of her best friend who probably had the strictest sleep schedule she could remember. The girl always fell asleep by ten no matter how hard she tried to stay awake.

“That’s what she would like you to believe,” he said with a smile, “When she’s stressed out, somedays she’ll be up until dawn eating cold noodles and trying to finish her work. She hasn’t gotten to the point where she collapses and ends up in the hospital… not yet anyway but she tries too hard sometimes.”

With that he stood and walked out of the room leaving Maya alone with Josh who was still sleeping. She sighed and took his hand in hers, while using the other to push strands of his hair away from his face.

“You know,” she said to him as she left her hand on his cheek. “You tell me don’t work too hard, make sure you eat, and yet you do things like this and end up in the hospital,” sighing she took his hand and put it up against her face. “If I kiss you and you wake up, I’m going to make fun of you for the rest of your life.”

As much as she wanted to kiss him, she was more afraid of doing so and nothing happening, she thought back to getting the call from him just before he collapsed, he had been muttering something about too many words on the paper not making sense. She had found out from some of the other students, since they had started dating, that going to a big school like NYU was sometimes too much. Some students felt the pressure to live up to what it meant to go to the school, while others were used to it. Josh hadn’t had any problems, at least until now, he was taking the normal number of classes, he wasn’t working as hard as some of the other students. But the pressure had been there for some reason and it had gotten to him after a while.

“You have to wake up Josh,” she said before kissing his hand. “You can’t stay asleep you know, we have so much to look forward to,” she put his hand down on the bed, never letting it go before leaning forward and kissing him on the lips. “Time to wake up sleepy head.”

She almost cried because he hadn’t woken up after the kiss, but then his hand squeezed hers and she looked into his beautiful eyes and she almost screamed out as joy filled her heart.

“You were messing with me weren’t you,” she said to him before running her hands through his hair.

“Yes and no,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I woke up after my brother left, but I didn’t want you to leave, I just wanted to hear your voice for a while.”

“So, you let me think that you weren’t going to wake up just so you could hear me talking,” she said looking at him, shocked that he could do something like that.

“I love your voice, it soothing,” he said smiling at her, wondering when they got to this part in their relationship where her voice is all that he needs to hear.

“So maybe,” she said her voice just above a whisper, “we shouldn’t have… not spoken to each other in so long… all the text messages weren’t enough.”

“No, they weren’t and without you in my head, I sort of went off the rails on my school work.”

“That’s kind of sweet,” she said feeling the blush creep up on her cheeks. It was weird having these emotions but with Josh it felt natural, even if it meant that she acted like a total girly girl, even though she wasn’t one. She preferred being that rebellious art major instead.

* * *

“It seems that even sleeping beauty needs to remember to get some sleep some days,” Auggie said as he walked through a room with only a red couch at the center. He didn’t walk towards it, he didn’t even think to sit down, instead moving towards yet another door. “But what happens when someone tries to steal a kiss from another person without their permission, or if someone wanted to steal someone without another knowing.”

He pulled the door open, as light shined through the door, “Maybe people shouldn’t try to steal someone else’s love,” he smiled before walking through the door.

* * *

Riley had been asleep on the bench outside of Lucas’s next class, she was tired and she had had an early morning midterm. The night before she had been on the phone with her father because Josh landed himself in the hospital for the same reason. They had both worked themselves to the bone trying to finish their papers and test, but apparently Josh had taken it one step further and hadn’t slept in so long that he had collapsed. Maya was with him and Riley knew that her Uncle was in good hands, but that hadn’t stopped Riley from staying up half the night studying.

It was a nice day out, warmer than usual for October, so with her backpack under her head, she fell asleep on the bench, exhausted now that her midterms were over. Dreaming of purple cats and rainbows over her head. She swore that she was only going to rest her eyes, Lucas would have been done in ten minutes and they would have gone to get some lunch before heading back to the dorms, hopefully for a nap.

Lucas saw her from the window of his class, he sat next to the window for that reason, just to see the moment she walked up to the building. It was the highlight of his day whenever she did it, most of the time she would smile and wave at him but he knew she had been tired. He hadn’t expected her to fall asleep on the bench, she wasn’t the type of person to fall asleep like that. So he watched her, while finishing up his test, as she settled herself on the bench to wait until she had fallen asleep.

He smiled at his paper as he wrote the last sentence, quickly checking the essay to make sure nothing was amiss before closing the booklet. That’s when he saw a guy, it was weird because he had seen the guy before but couldn’t remember where, the guy walked up to where Riley laid and kneeled down. Lucas hadn’t realized that he had snapped his pen in half until the ink stained his fingers. Getting up and grabbing his things, he dropped his test on his professor’s desk before walking out of the room. How could some guy go near Riley like that while she was sleeping, how dare he? Without any other thought in mind he had rushed out just as the guy was going to lean over and kiss his girlfriend.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Lucas called out causing the guy to look back and watch him. “She didn’t give you permission to kiss her.”

“Well she shouldn’t be sleeping on a bench if she didn’t want it,” the guy said.

Without thinking Lucas pushed the guy, ready to beat him to the ground if he so much as said another word. The thought that someone would take advantage of someone like that pissed him off. The guy swung at Lucas, clipping him on the shoulder as he tried to duck. A crowd had gathered around them, but Lucas didn’t care, he needed to make sure that nothing ever happened to Riley without her express permission. He was about to swing his fist when a hand landed on his arm. Looking over he saw Riley standing there next to him, her face haloed by the afternoon sun. Lucas took a step back from the other guy and looked at his girlfriend, he knew she didn’t want him to fight, he could always count on the fact that she could tame the wild beast inside of him.

“Your boyfriend is crazy,” the other guy said to her but she just looked at him before throwing all of her weight in a punch. Lucas didn’t tell a lot of people, but he knew Riley had a mean right hook, he remembered when she had punched him on his arm back in middle school. She was no delicate flower and he loved her for it.

“I’m crazy too,” she said to the guy, “And if he said you tried something I would believe him because Lucas doesn’t like to lie to anyone.”

No he didn’t, and it had to do a lot with the fact that he had seen what a little white lie could cause. The other guy was about to say something but another girl showed up, her face was red with anger and Lucas somehow knew that the other guy was in trouble. The moment the girl had shown up, the guy was saying things, but Lucas heard none of it instead choosing to grab Riley’s backpack in one hand, and her hand in the other and walk away.

“Don’t fall asleep on random benches anymore,” he said as the made it to the dining hall.

“I wasn’t going to, I guess I’m just tired,” she sighed and leaned into him. “But it’s nice to be protected by you.”

“Trust me princess, you don’t need my protection,” he smiled at her head before kissing her hair.

* * *

The bright light shone on the room as Auggie walked in, he was in a room with a single table, on it a vase with a single flower in it.

“The moral of the story is,” Auggie paused for dramatic effect, “don’t go kissing people who didn’t ask for it.”

Picking the flower off the table he smiles at it before taking a petal and eating it, “That’s it for this year’s Halloween Scary Time Theater… until next Time.”


	9. Episode Nine – Girl Meets Written in the Stars

Midterms were over, Riley had submitted her story for her writing class the week before and the weekend had been spent recovering from overworking herself. She talked with Josh on the phone after he had gotten out of the hospital, well more like she yelled at him for doing the same thing she did. They were the same, growing up at least before she met Maya, they had always done everything together. So of course, they developed the same bad habits over time. Maya had stayed in the city taking a few extra days with her family and Josh, while Riley stayed at school because Josh had told her to get some rest after hearing about the incident with the guy outside of Lucas’s class.

“You need to sleep Riley,” he had told her before saying goodbye. She missed her family, even when they visited it wasn’t enough most days, but she knew that she was working towards something that mattered.

Now she sat in her writing class, Zay and Charlie next to her talking about their grades on their writing projects, both of them had gotten B’s on them and told that they should work on the stories a little longer and develop them further. Riley’s grade had been a C, with no explanation as to why the grade had been that. She stared at the grade remembering freshman year of high school and the infamous D that she had gotten in Spanish class. She was waiting until everyone was done speaking with the professor, she wanted to know why she had gotten that grade, but just as she was standing up the professor had walked out of the room without a word to her.

“Riles,” Zay said looking at her, she knew he was worried about her, they were friends so worrying was normal. He looked down at her paper and saw the grade before looking back up at her.

“I’ll be fine,” she said the memory of the D fresh in her mind. “I’ll be just fine,” she finished before taking her bag and walking out of the room, leaving Zay and Charlie behind looking after her.

“I don’t understand,” Charlie said once they had started to follow her. “Her story was a hundred times better than either one of ours.”

Zay nodded his head but all he could think about was the sad look in Riley’s eyes, “Our first year of high school Riley got a D in one of her classes, and it consumed her, made her think that she wasn’t as good of a student as she had once thought she had been.”

“But I know that’s a lie, she’s a great student,” Charlie said to him as the made it across the quad on the way towards the dining hall they always ate at after class.

“Of course, she is but sometimes, well sometimes she doesn’t click with a teacher and I think that’s what hurts her the most because her father is a teacher and she grew up with teachers all around her so the fact that she doesn’t click with one is really hard on her.”

“That’s sounds kind of sad when you think about it, she always wants to live up to these great people but when she stumbles it hits her the hardest, but it still doesn’t make sense, her story was the best one in the class everyone else said so, why would the professor give her that grade.”

Zay shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know, but I think we should help Riley no matter what,” he said thinking about how much she has helped him over the years.

Zay kept a close eye on Riley, he saw how her face changed from the sad puppy eyes she would get when she didn’t live up to something, to that determined fierce person who was bound to fix her own problems. Instead of waiting for her permission he pulled up a copy of her story and with the help of Charlie and Sam, they found a writing contest that was being held by the school and submitted Riley’s story into the competition. They also watched as she wrote everything she was feeling into a notebook, he remembered how she had written articles during the last two years of high school. The same articles that had helped so many people, including himself, so he knew that she was going to be alright. She was the strongest person he knew, and she was also the one person who could be hurt the most but the smallest things. Even after everything he had put her through over the last few months she never backed away from him, she stayed close and made sure that he was alright, so he had to do the same for her, because that’s what friends do for one another.

* * *

In the days since she received her grade, Riley had tried to talk to her professor, who was ignoring her both in class and through emails. It wasn’t right, but after talking to some of his former students she had found out that he does this with those who show the most promise just to see how they would react. It was mean and cruel and she hated the fact that he did it, but she couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t allow a meeting. Instead of going back to talk to him she concentrated on the story she had to submit before thanksgiving break. The first story she had given them had been about a group of wolves traveling down a mountain pass, she had read about it once and thought it was an interesting concept. So she wrote a story about it for her project, but for some reason it wasn’t her best according to the professor.

“Don’t dwell on it too much Riley,” Lucas said as he rubbed her back. “You need to relax a little, and then focus on your next project.”

“But it’s just so… so… it’s infuriating to me,” she said jumping off her bed before she started pacing back and forth in her room. “Why would he do that if he thought a student had promise? That sound ridiculous, and then to ignore me outright instead of speaking to me.”

“Well they did tell us that college was different,” he said before standing up and moving in her path. Taking her face in his hands, “Just be yourself Riley,” he said before kissing her on her forehead. “You’re going to outshine everyone.”

“Okay,” she said to him as she attempted to relax even for a moment, but she still felt tense, she was afraid of what this meant for her final grade in the class. She enjoyed being there, the creativity was a good outlet for her but the feeling that she had done something wrong just didn’t feel right with her. Lucas held her close, it was the only thing she knew he could do, because once she was in her own headspace, her mind went into overload and she over thought every little thing.

“What did Señora Feinstein-Chang tell you freshman year that made you work harder?”

“That it wasn’t this grade that mattered but the next one because that showed her where I wanted to go.”

“That still applies here Riles, so just make your next assignment the one that matters,” he said before pulling away from her.

She gave him the biggest smile she could, because he was right, the next assignment is what mattered. “Okay,” she said to him as she pulled him back towards the bed. “For now, let’s watch a movie, you’re right I might be too stressed out about this.”

“There’s my girl,” he said with a smile. “And don’t worry, you’re meant to do great things, hell you’ve done great things Riles, but your future is so bright you can light up the sky with it.”

She couldn’t help but feel loved by his words, “Our futures are bright,” she said to him before they started watching a movie on her laptop.

* * *

In the days since her talk with Lucas, Riley felt lighter, she went to class and decided against going after her professor for her grade, instead concentrating on her next short story. Zay smiled at her in class before nudging Charlie, she wasn’t sure why the two of them were so happy but it didn’t matter. Zay was really smiling after having such a rough time the last few months, which only made her want to keep him happy. She wanted everyone to be happy, so she worked on her papers, on her stories. They had lunch like they usually did, never really deviating from their weekly schedules unless they wanted to see a movie. It became her new normal, until the week before thanksgiving break when her professor pulled her aside, reminding her of all of those times that he had ignored her. But she didn’t lash out.

“Ms. Matthews,” he said smiling at her. “I wondered when you stopped being persistent about your midterm grade that you had given up like so many other students, but you surprised me.”

“Well there’s no point in dwelling on one grade, when the next one is more important,” she said to him as the classroom emptied out behind her. “I was told once that it was the next grade that really matters because it shows you where I want to go.”

“That’s a good philosophy, kind of sounds like something someone I know would say,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t give you a C on your midterm, I gave you an A, but I wanted you to continue to work hard because you showed the most promise from all of my students.”

“So, you gave me a false grade just to force me to reevaluate myself, well sir, that’s cruel and hurtful.”

“Yes, I know that, I’ve been yelled at by several people about it over the last few weeks, some of which were your friends, another was my sister, who I found out was your teacher in high school,” he sighed and Riley really wasn’t sure where he was headed with this, and honestly, she didn’t really care. “You see, I’ve had students over the years who show promise on their first story only to fall behind afterwards. Their heads get too big thinking that they’re something big, but in the end, they question my methods when their final grade is below what they expected.”

“I don’t understand what that has to do with my midterm grade.”

“I did this as a test to you, as I have done to others over the last two years, some rise above it and create works that outshine what they’ve created, while others give up. You were persistent at first and then you decided that you needed to work on rising above it. So, I’m telling you now, as an apology, because I’ve been asked to judge your story for the writing competition, and I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

Riley’s brain took a moment to register what he was talking about, she hadn’t entered a writing competition, and she wasn’t sure how he had gotten an entry from her. Before she could say anything Zay and Charlie walked up next to her and pulled her out of the room.

“See you next week sir,” Zay said smiling, but Riley wanted to go back into the room and ask what he was talking about.

“Bye Professor,” Charlie said before the three of them left and walked out of the building.

“What is going on,” she asked them when they were half way through campus forcing the two of them to stop. “Out with it.”

“Well after what had happened, we talked to Sam and kind of devised a plan,” Charlie said trying to look innocent. “It was mostly Zay’s idea anyway.”

“What to throw me under the bus man,” Zay said before pushing Charlie away. “Yeah, I had the idea to submit your story to the competition, it was really good and I hated the look on your face, plus I thought that the professor was wrong.”

“And we’ve been meaning to tell you, but you got all happy after the second class that week,” Charlie added as he rubbed his hands to keep them from getting cold.

“Lucas told me that he had helped calm you down by reminding you of how you got over what happened freshman year, so we put off telling you,” Zay said as he ran a hand through his hair before putting his hat back on. “We didn’t know you were going to find out this way, sorry.”

Riley smiled at the two of them before throwing her arms around their shoulders. “You guys are the best you know that,” she said as she squeezed them together. “Thank you,” she said with a smile.

Before she could pull away she felt someone’s body slam into her, “Yay for hugs,” Sam said before they were joined by Lucas.

It would have been weird for anyone to see the five of them hugging it out on the quad, but Riley didn’t care what others thought because she had good friends who wanted her to be happy.

“Not that I mind but why are we hugging,” Sam said after a moment had passed.

“We told Riley about the writing competition,” Charlie answered before Riley started pulling away. The smile still firmly planted on her face.

“Oh yay, I’ve been waiting for this moment, because I’m terrible at keeping secrets,” Sam said before putting her arms around Riley and Charlie.

Lucas smiled at them, Zay laughed, and Charlie patted Sam on the head before they separated. This was something good, for all of them, friendships were important, especially when so much was happening. She couldn’t wait to share it all with Maya, Smackle and Farkle, when they saw one another next. For now she was going to savor the moment.


	10. Episode Ten – Girl Meets Radio Days

There was a call for radio DJ’s at school, Riley had heard that they wanted fresh voices for the school’s radio station. She didn’t want to do it but she thought of the three most perfect people of it, and she wanted to see if they could have fun together while entertaining the rest of the school. Taking the flyer, she skipped towards her room thinking of how to bring it up with the three troublemakers. She loved them, honestly, she did, but sometimes when Charlie, Zay, and Sam got together it felt like they were joking about one thing or plotting something else.

She sat in her room thinking of a way to broach the subject when she saw them next, while working on her homework. The semester was almost over and she had papers to hand in and test to study for, so she wasn’t sure it was a good idea to bring this up with the trio, because they were in the same place, but since the flyer specified that they would start in the spring if they were accepted then it should have been alright.

With her mind wandering she hadn’t heard the door open, she hadn’t known anything had happened until Lucas put his arms around her making her jump, and sending her heart into a frenzy.

“Lucas,” she squealed out as he kissed her cheek. “Give me a heart attack why don’t you.”

Her heart was hammering in her chest, “Sorry I thought you heard me come in, usually you’re trying to finish a paragraph before you turn around,” he said as she tried to control her own heart. “Sorry for scaring you.”

“No, I’m sorry,” she said as she turned the chair towards where he stood. “My mind was somewhere else.”

“Riley,” he kneeled down in front of her before taking her hands. “What were you thinking about that made you forget that there’s a whole world around you?”

“I was thinking about the whole radio DJ thing,” she said to him before putting one of her hands on his face, looking into those green eyes she’s known so well for so long. “Not for me but for Charlie, Zay, and Sam.”

Lucas watched her eyes for a moment, as she ran her hands through the roughness of his five o’clock shadow. “They would be an interesting combination on the air, especially when they’re plotting something,” he said before he took her hand and kissed it.

“Yeah well I figured after the whole writing contest thing, that it would be a good idea to give them a hobby, plus it also means that they wouldn’t get into too much trouble, and they’re good at talking.”

“I’m also sure that putting them there would mean that they wouldn’t have the time to plot out another way to sign you up for something that you weren’t sure of.”

“Don’t remind me,” she said thinking back to Halloween weekend, they had all decided to go to a party, they needed to relax, only for Zay and Sam to shove her on stage before blindfolding her and dropping her into a kiddie pool full of jello. “They’re a menace I tell you.”

“You sound like your dad,” he said with a laugh. Riley looked at him horrified, she hadn’t realized that her father’s mannerisms had rubbed off to the point where she would quote him at a moment’s notice. “Don’t worry, it’s cute. Plus, there’s days where you sound like your mom too. They raised you so it was bound to happen.”

“It’s still weird though,” she said to him making him laugh.

“Okay,” he said after he could breathe again. “Tell me more about the radio thing.”

It took her ten minutes to explain to Lucas about the fact that she knew that the trio would be good for the radio station. They all experienced life differently, they were from three very different backgrounds, but they all had gone through their own problems over the years. She knew that they could talk about a number of things, while at the same time relating to other people. There was also the fact that they liked to make jokes and laugh which would be fun for their classmates to listen to, especially during stressful times like finals.

“Well Zay has always loved cracking jokes, plus he’s good with music,” Lucas said when she finished. “I’m still getting to know Sam but from having lunch with her during the week, I realized that she’s a good person, and while I’m still trying to get over the fact that Charlie is around, it would be good for him too.”

“For all three of them,” she said feeling weird for plotting this.

\-----

Bringing up the idea to the trio was a lot harder for Riley than she would have thought, mainly because they were all on a weird finals schedule and they were nowhere near each other or in the same place. They didn’t even have time to have their usual lunches between classes, they were almost always running in one direction or another. Lucas always made sure to stop by her room to check on her, and she always brought him a snack when she was sure that he hadn’t left the library in hours. His classes were a little more demanding than hers, because she was still undeclared while he was in the veterinary sciences, so she worried about him.

At the end of the week she still hadn’t had the chance to talk to Charlie, Zay, or Sam about the radio thing and was about to give up until she got a message from Zay about a movie night. The message as it turned out was from Sam, who had taken Zay’s phone by accident during a mad dash to the dining hall.

“It’s insane, I really should put a different case on mine,” Sam said as she leaned back on her bed while Riley looked through Netflix for a movie. “But I was like, what are the odds that someone would have the same phone case as mine, it’s only a bunch of cookies.”

“Yeah but Zay loves cookies,” Riley said with a smile. “One time his grandmother sent him a cookie, this was during freshman year of high school and it was cookie day, I had an assignment from school for a debate, so I decided to be evil to understand the assignment, and I stole Zay’s cookie and told him it wasn’t that good of a cookie.”

“That doesn’t sound very nice,” Sam said to her, but Riley could only smile.

“I know and I felt bad about it after a while, but if it weren’t for that cookie we wouldn’t have started taking baking classes, and we wouldn’t be as close as we are now,” Riley sighed thinking about the early years of her friendship with Zay. “Don’t get me wrong we were close but it always felt as if there was this invisible wall between the two of us.”

“I doubt that, you’re a very friendly person.”

“That’s the thing though, for Zay I was the girl Lucas couldn’t stop talking about, I was the one stealing away his best friend, and well in some ways, I was the reason Lucas had changed so much since leaving Texas. There was always this weird thing because of it, but after the cookie incident I guess we sort of found a happy middle.”

“I wish I had had friends like that growing up,” Sam said smiling. “My sister wasn’t the best sister I could have had, when my mom remarried it was weird and having Missy for a sister was probably not always the best when it came to making friends.”

“Well now you have friends, and we’ll be there for you,” Riley said smiling, she loved meeting new people, but she also loved it when her inner circle of friends expanded.

The door swung open revealing Zay with a bag full of snack in his hand. “We have food,” he said as he walked in, Charlie not far behind with a bag of drinks.

The four of them settled around the small TV they had in her and Sam’s room, Lucas was still in class finishing up his lab so Riley was left to cuddle with her pillow until he got there.

“What are we watching,” Charlie said as he settled himself on the floor in front of Riley’s bed.

“Sense and Sensibility,” she said as a joke remembering how Charlie had told her about his sisters. When he looked at her with wide eyes she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “I’m joking, we’re watching Thor Ragnarok.”

“I hate being the only boy in my family,” Charlie muttered and while Zay and Sam started laughing.

“Oh, before we start,” Riley said before dropping her pillow to grab the flier on her nightstand. “I saw this a while ago and thought about you three.”

She handed the flyer to Zay who had been sitting on Sam’s bed, the three of them converged around it and started reading it. “I thought it would be fun for you guys to have a radio show,” she said not knowing if it was a good idea anymore. “I think it would be a good outlet for you,” she continued, while thinking that they would stop ganging up on her for certain things.

“As interesting as it sounds,” Zay looked up after a moment. “Why not you?”

“I already have a million things on my plate,” it wasn’t a lie, she was always doing something. “Plus, you three like to joke around, and you’re so different from each other, not just in family background but in all aspects, but you all click and you can give advice on things like what you’ve lived through.”

“Again, why not you?” Zay asked one more time.

“I don’t know, I guess I just want to concentrate on my writing, and school, plus I was thinking of going out for the school’s journal instead.”

Zay nodded along with her words before smiling. “You’re going to be a great writer one day,” he said with a smile. “And well, maybe this would be fun. I don’t have anything in my background other than sports though.”

“I doubt that matters,” Sam said looking at them. “I have academics in my background.”

“I have nothing other than a part-time job and some sports,” Charlie added.

“See what I mean,” Riley said smiling at the trio, “From what I know, Zay loves music… a lot, it’s also really diverse because he could be talking about Celine Dion one moment and Childish Gambino another. Charlie, you love to talk about movies, it’s weird that you watch the b movies more than anything even if some of them are horrible. Sam, while we’ve only known each other for a short time, you have a sense of humor and a passion for books, that scares me sometimes but heck if I know anything.”

“You my friend pay too much attention to the people around you,” Sam said before getting up and sitting next to Riley. “I’m with Zay though, you should do this with us, you’re a people person, you’re good with helping others, and you have this unhealthy infatuation with Cuddle Bunnies and Red Planet Diaries.”

“Not cool Sam,” Riley said feeling her face heat up. The only reason Sam even knows about Cuddle Bunnies is because she caught Riley and Lucas watching it one day, while cuddled up against each other.

“Oh god,” Zay said before he started laughing. “It’s Lucas… oh man… this is too funny.”

“What,” Charlie asked before Zay started cracking up next to him.

“Zay if you know what’s good for you,” Riley said in warning, pointing her finger at him. “You won’t say another word.”

“Yes, Miss Matthews,” he said before turning to Charlie. “Lucas loves Cuddle Bunnies.”

“Isaiah Babineaux, you meanie,” she screamed out before throwing her purple pillow at him, Zay stuck his tongue out and she launched herself off her own bed, landing on him before attempting to smoother him with Sam’s pillow.

The door opened behind them, Lucas standing there gaping at what she was doing, “Do I even want to know what Zay did to piss off Riley?” Lucas asked before walking inside and taking off his coat.

“Something about you and Cuddle Bunnies,” Charlie answered.

Lucas’s eyes went wide, “Riley you have my permission to kill him.”

“Lucas, NO,” Zay screamed out.

“Riley,” Lucas said looking into her eyes communicating his intent to take out his best friend, for revealing his secret, so she hit Zay with the pillow. Laughing for a moment before she stopped her assault on Zay she jumped off of the bed and walked over to her boyfriend, kissing him on the lips while smiling. “Nice to know you have my back,” he said softly before putting his arm around her.

“I have been forsaken,” Zay screamed out. “And attacked.”

“Yeah well, it’s your own fault,” Charlie said before getting up and sitting on the bed next to Zay. “Now can we finish this conversation so that we can start the movie already.”

“Fine,” Zay said grumbling and acting wounded, before winking at Riley. She knew he wasn’t really hurt, honestly it reminded her of Auggie, the way they used to fight.

“What’s there more to say,” Sam said looking at the room. “The four of us could fill up an hour or two just talking and playing music once in a while, it’s not like we would have to do it every day.”

“Wait,” Lucas said to the room. “Four of you?”

“Yeah, we’re dragging Riley into this,” Zay said with a smile. “It wouldn’t be the same without her around.”

“Plus, if there’s anyone here who could keep us in check it’s her,” Charlie added.

Lucas smiled at her, “Well I approve, it also means that if I had to study I could listen to you all joke around.”

“See big plus all around, now let’s watch the movie,” Charlie said before settling himself next to Zay, Sam on his other side, while Riley snuggled up next to Lucas.

“Sure whatever,” she said admitting defeat, there was no way to get around the three of them, and she knew she would have fun even if they just talked about random things on the air.


	11. Episode Eleven – Girl Meets Fear for the Future

There was a moment, just weeks before the end of the semester, where Maya had realized that she hadn’t seen Riley in weeks. She tried to think back to the last time she had seen her best friend and the only image that popped up was from some party that had felt like an eternity away. She was sitting in her dorm room putting the final touches on a piece of art that she had to hand in for the final in her drawing class. Smackle was at her desk typing away on her laptop, mumbling to herself every once and while about something that Maya would never understand. She knew better than to interrupt the genius while looking at some math thing that only Farkle would understand.

Maya and Smackle had become good friends over the last few months, they drove into the city together with Farkle all of the time. Maya usually went to see Josh, but the four of them had somehow found themselves doing double dates in the most unusual places. Smackle wanted to learn about normal non-genius couples, but Maya had learned that it also had to do with the fact that Smackle had wanted to have some fun without all of the work. It was rare for Smackle to do non-Smackle things, so with Maya planning everything the genius got the chance to try new things.

They did these things twice a month, just the four of them, and it had become normal for her to be in the city with her parents and Josh on weekends. But now that she thought back to the last few months the one thing she had always sworn that she wouldn’t do, happened without her even trying. She had been busy, college was a lot harder for her than she had expected, but she loved her classes and tried her best in them. She was the first in her family to go to college in the first place and it had made her mother so happy that Maya hadn’t wanted to disappoint her. But Riley was also family to her and she had barely seen the brunette in weeks.

“Hey Smackle,” Maya called out to the genius. “When was the last time we all hung out together, all six of us?”

Smackle didn’t answer her, still mumbling the problem to herself, Maya wanted to ask again but instead picked up her phone and walked out into the hallway. Everyone was studying or writing papers, since the end of the semester was near so she walked into the stairwell and closed the door, quickly dialing Josh. When he didn’t pick up she sighed and left him a quick message so that he would call her back.

She sat there for another fifteen minutes wondering about what her best friend had been doing the last few weeks, and how they had both let their friendship slip. She was lost in her thoughts when someone sat down next to her pushing her slightly with their shoulder. Turning to glare at the person intruding on her thoughts, she was greeted with a warm smile of her other childhood best friend.

“Hey there,” she said smiling at Farkle. “What brings you over here this time of day?”

“Smackle sent me a message, she said you needed someone to talk to,” he said with a smile. Maya hadn’t thought that Smackle had been listening at all, but the girl had ended up calling for reinforcements. “She would help you but our professor posted an impossible problem the other day, he swore no one could figure it out, so she’s been working on it trying to prove him wrong.”

“And why aren’t you working on it?”

“I’ll have my chance, I wasn’t interested in the problem right now,” Farkle gave her a small smile. “Plus, I want Smackle to shine.”

“You’ve got a soft spot for her if you’re giving something like this up.”

“Well she has my heart, all that matters is that we’re both happy” he smiled. “Now what’s bothering you that had Smackle worried enough to call me over here.”

Maya sighed and stared at the wall in front of them, “Farkle when was the last time we talked to Riley, or hung out with Lucas and Zay?”

Farkle gave her a small smile, it must have been something that had been weighing on his mind lately, “It’s been a while,” he said as he looked down at his hands.

“Do you think Riley’s noticed?” she asked wondering why her best friend hadn’t thought to check in with them. “I mean it’s weird right?”

“Well we all have different schedules, at this point different lives,” he said before looking up at her. “You and me, we hang out more now than we used to, I’m grateful for that because you’ve helped Smackle come out of her shell just a little more, she’s trying so many things because of that.”

“But it’s not the same,” she finished before he could say the worlds. “It feels like a phantom pain, we should have known it was missing but it feels like she’s still there.”

The two of them didn’t say another word, only sitting there in silence as the light outside faded into darkness. They both had things to do, but for some reason they weren’t rushing to go do them. Someone had been walking up the stairs when they had finally realized that they had been sitting there in silence for almost an hour. Maya was surprised to see Josh standing at the bottom of the staircase looking at the two gloomy friends.

“I figured I’d visit this weekend,” Josh said smiling at her, and she knew he was trying to cheer her up. “I listened to your voicemail, and figured that you needed some comfort.”

Josh sat in front of her, his back against the railing, as he took her hand in his and held it towards his heart. Maya’s mind was at war with itself, she couldn’t figure out if she was happy or sad, there were too many things going on and no answers. No Riley to pull her back from the darkest parts of her heart.

“What’s wrong,” Josh asked them when neither had said a word.

“We just realized that we haven’t seen Riley in a while,” Farkle answered for the both of them. “I guess we just miss her.”

“You’re afraid that you’re losing her,” Josh said a sad smile on his face. “I’m pretty sure that’s not the case considering she sends me weekly emails, I’m pretty sure she sends them to you too.”

“What emails?” Maya’s head shot up at her boyfriend’s words. “Riley knows I don’t check my emails, most of the time they get lost in a sea of spam and I just leave it alone.”

“Maya, you probably have a million emails from her, just search for her name and they should pop up,” he said smiling at her. Josh somehow always tried to make things a little better whenever she unsure of something.

“Have you check your emails,” she asked Farkle who shrugged.

“I don’t remember getting anything from Riley, but I think I’ve only used my school email because of all of the assignments we’ve had, so I should check them shouldn’t I,” he said before running his hand through his hair. “I’ve been a little busy.”

“Yeah I know, you’re trying to save the world, how about you start with Smackle and get her away from what she’s doing since she’s been mumbling to herself for a while now,” Maya said as her heart felt lighter for a moment. Then she realized that if Riley had been emailing her and she hadn’t replied then she had been the horrible friend.

“Don’t think that,” Josh said as if he had read her mind. “Farkle go check on your girlfriend, I’m going to talk to Maya for a while.”

“Will do,” Farkle said with a smile. “Don’t worry Maya, Riley will be there for us even if we’ve been too preoccupied.”

She nodded but it didn’t stop the feeling of dread in her stomach. “See you later,” she said trying to sound happy as he walked off.

“Seriously,” Josh said once Farkle was gone. “Don’t think too much about it, Riley knows you’re busy, she tells me all of the time,” Maya watched as he pulled out his phone, and opened the email app. “I know Maya gets too obsessed with her art projects, just make sure she has a little fun this weekend… She sometimes forgets things when she’s in her art haze, she’s going to be a famous artist, but she needs to remember the outside world,” he said smiling at her.

“I didn’t know I went through things like that,” she said feeling herself blush, it felt so out of character for her to even do that.

“She always sends me stuff like that, let me see,” he said as he opened another email. “She likes ring dings the most, so if you take her on that picnic make sure you pack some.”

“That’s true,” Maya said with a smile.

“Her favorite color isn’t red, no matter how much she tries to tell you otherwise, her favorite color is yellow, so get her the yellow dress.”

“Really Riley,” Maya said before burying her head in her hands. “How many more of these little tidbits does she have?”

“I have them all saved, because while I know you extremely well, I’m not Riley and she pays way more attention than most people.”

“She’s my best friend, I feel horrible for not seeing these, or even calling her.”

“Maya will try and tell you that she feels bad about doing something, but it’s not her fault, we’ve been busy and I realized that I can’t always take care of her, but she has you now, so I know she’s in good hands.”

Maya felt the tears fall down her face, Riley knew her better than anyone, she always knew what to say and it filled her heart with joy.

“She’s afraid of what the future will bring, but I will always be there for her,” Josh continued as Maya cried next to him. “She needs this time to grow, and when she’s ready she’ll come looking for me,” he finished as he pulled her into his arms. “She cares, kind of reminds me of my mom with how she knows everything.”

“Did she only write that about me?”

“No, she actually wrote things about my brother, and her mom, and Auggie, somethings about Ava too, she cares about everyone in her own way. I actually got an email one day that was twelve pages long. I think everyone else emails her back except for you, Smackle and Farkle, but she will always tell me things about all three of you for weekends we hang out together.”

“Maybe we can all get together after the last final,” she said smiling at him, the one person who had somehow filled her heart with happiness, while at the same time making sure to remind her that her best friend will always be there.

“I think that would be a good idea, but I also thing that you should read all of the emails she sent you before then, send her one too telling her everything that had happened in the last few months.”

“Art haze,” she said to herself for a moment. Thinking back, she remembered there being several projects that she had been working on. One of which had been a present for Riley’s birthday which was the same day as the end of the semester. “Who knew that there was such a thing?”

“Well you do get this glassy eyed look whenever you think up a new project,” he said smiling. “I like watching you draw, it’s like watching something amazing as it happens, I can’t describe it, but Riley is right about one thing, you’re going to do great things in the future.”

“I just can’t fear it,” she said smiling at him. “There’s something scary about being afraid for the future, even when there’s so many possibilities about there.”

“The best thing you can do is believe in yourself and you’ll get over that fear,” he said to her before standing up, pulling her up with him. “You’ll always be afraid of something, but as long as there are people around to help you, you’re always going to come out on top.”

He kissed her the moment he finished talking, running his hands through her tangled hair, it felt warm and sweet, and perfect in that moment. “Thank you,” she murmured when they separated.

“Well you’ve been helping me so much this semester, I figured I owed you a few helping moments.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she smiled at him, she knew this was the person who she would be with for all of her life, and it was weird to know something like that when she was just eighteen. “Come on let’s go save the geniuses.”

“What do you mean save them?” he asked as she pulled him along. Just as they reached her hallway, she hard Smackle scream out at Farkle before a pillow was thrown out of the room.

“Smackle, please you need to get some sleep,” Farkle said as Maya and Josh reached the door. “You will get the answer after a few hours, I promise.”

“No,” Smackle screamed out, Maya rushed over and started rubbing Smackle’s head, remembering how Mrs. Matthews had been during freshman year of high school. After a few minutes, Smackle had started mumbling to herself, and just as Maya passed her over to Farkle, the other girl had all but passed out in her boyfriend’s arms.

“See saving,” Maya said with a smile as she settled in her own bed with Josh next to her, pulling out two pairs of headphones so that they could watch a movie as the geniuses slept in the other bed.


	12. Episode Twelve – Girl Meets First Semester’s End

To: Josh Matthews (YoungestMatthewsBro)

From: Riley Matthews (PurpleCatGirl)

Hey Uncle Josh,

Thanks for keeping me updated on what happened with you, life over here is a little overwhelming too, so much happens in college. Why didn’t you tell me these things???? Anyways… I know that Maya goes to see you every weekend, and I think that you should take her out on a special date or something. She likes to dance but honestly, I think you two should have dinner together because she’s probably as tired as you are, she tends to hide it but I know she’s probably worried sick about a million things. Buy her a dress, I showed you a few last time we talked in person, because you’re a dork who looks at dresses and thinks about whether his girlfriend would look good in them. (It’s sweet, and adorable) Anyway I remember that time we walked pass the forever 21 in Union Square, they had these dresses there and Maya was saying how much she liked the red dress. Don’t get her that one trust me, her favorite color isn’t red, no matter how much she tries to tell you otherwise, her favorite color is yellow, so get her the yellow dress.

Also, the dinner doesn’t have to be in a fancy place, go for something casual, just dress up a bit, because it would just make a diner as special as one of those crazy expensive places. I know this sounds like a lot, but I worry about her and just want her to be happy.

Take pictures and send them to me!!!

Love Ya

Riley

* * *

To: Maya Hart (MurderArtist)

From: Riley Matthews (PurpleCatGirl)

Hey Maya,

I know we’ve been busy, school is crazy right. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever, and I know you probably won’t open this email for months, but I hope when you do you remember that I’ll be here waiting for you. Do you know that Zay and Sam entered one of my stories into this major schoolwide contest? It’s insane right, (btw I attached it to this email so read it when you open this). They did it because one of my professors was being a bit mean to me, but I tried my best and in the end, it turn out alright. Lucas took me out to celebrate afterwards.

I saw you the other day walking pass the window of one of my classes, you almost ran into a tree because you were drawing in that sketchbook your parents got for you before we came here. You need to pay a little attention to where you’re going when you’re drawing Maya (Yes I’m Mommying you right now). That poor guy who tried to swerve his bike around you went straight into the pond.

Take care of Smackle please, she needs to know that there’s life outside of her books, and you’re the perfect person to help her with that, or at least help her have some fun. I worry about her sometimes.

Josh and I talk all of the time, he’s always telling me about what you two do on the weekends, what movies you see, where you hang out. I told him to take you to dinner, I hope that went alright… Did it??? Maybe you two can go to that spy maze thing, you would love that, they have the laser grids and you have to get through them. I’ll tell Josh.

Love you Peaches!

* * *

To: Maya Hart (MurderArtist)

From: Riley Matthews (PurpleCatGirl)

Peaches….. my dear sweet best friend.

What have I told you about not paying attention to your surroundings??? I saw you again today, and this time you bumped into someone who ended up tripping into a tree…. Their nose was bleeding and you just kept walking. You’re going to be a study in some weird science journal, because if you can’t keep an eye out when you’re walking then it has to be some weird science thing…. Maybe Farkle would know? But he’s as bad as you are with checking emails…. Which I always found strange since he’s a tech wiz, but I guess even geniuses have their own quirks.

I’m planning a girls’ day for us at the end of the semester, because I miss you, but for now I want you to concentrate on your studies. Uncle Shawn told me that you got an A on your Art History paper, which is amazing.

You’re doing amazing things Peaches!!!

Just pay more attention to your surroundings, I don’t want to see any more innocent victims, who were unfortunate enough to cross paths with you.

Love, your best friend

Riley

* * *

To: Farkle Minkus (GeniusBoy)

From: Riley Matthews (PurpleCatGirl)

Sparkly Farkle,

You know for someone who calls himself a genius, you are forgetful about checking your email, I could be sending you a bit scientific discovery and you would miss it because you’re not checking this. I actually don’t have anything like that, because as much as I love science, I don’t know how to create something that has never existed or improve on something that already does. And honestly, I’m alright with that. I’ll leave all the scientific discoveries to you and Smackle, just don’t name anything weird after me.

I heard that you’ve been spending more time with Maya, and I’m glad because I worry about the both of you sometimes. Don’t tell Maya, but I have been keeping an eye on Zay, after Cassie and everything that had happened, I’m really worried about him. I think he knows because I make sure to stay close, last time I saw Maya I ran out on her because Zay had been so drunk that he ended up in the hospital. I think I’m in over my head with what’s happening, but I feel so guilty about introducing him to Cassie sometimes that I just want to make sure that he’s alright. I know it’s a lot, but I have the urge to take care of everyone. Which is why I’m happy that you, Maya and Smackle are doing alright, at least that’s what Josh tells me.

Don’t work too hard Farkle,

Love you guys!!

Riley

* * *

Farkle and Maya were sitting in Maya and Smackle’s room, reading through message after message that Riley had sent them. One of which had a video of Maya drawing while walking that had the two of them laughing as people tripped over themselves to move out of Maya’s way. The sketch book she had been using was now filled with all kinds of drawings, some of her friends, her family, and Josh.

‘Don’t feel bad about not replying Maya,’ Riley had written several times, but Maya couldn’t help it. She had also learned that some of the things that Josh had done with them had been a direct result of Riley’s meddling.

‘I know college is hard, and we might not see one another as much right now, but once everything gets settled, we’ll find our way back to one another,’ Riley had said in her fifth email.

There had been pictures, in some of the emails, videos that Riley thought that Maya would like, and sometimes a random book that she thought she should read. ‘Honestly Maya you need to read more sometimes.’

Maya had laughed at that one until she looked at the book and wrote it down so that she could pick it up and read it. After they had gone through all of the emails the two of them sat there in silence.

“Are we bad friends?” she had asked after ten minutes had passed.

“No, we’re not,” Farkle answered with a smile. “She worries about us even when we’re not around.”

“But we haven’t seen her in weeks, so what does that make us?”

“Human,” he gave her a small smile shrugging his shoulders. “She made sure that these would be here, even if she didn’t have the chance to be here herself. She’s writing, and doing that radio thing, she’s being Riley, but she wanted to make sure that we knew about everything, hell she knew everything we’ve been up to as well.”

“I think we need to make this up to her, don’t we?”

“No, we just need to be there for her,” he said before getting up and closing the app on his tablet and putting it down on Maya’s bed. “I think we should go surprise her, don’t you?”

“Yes, we do,” she said with a smile.

Smackle was still asleep on her bed, the genius had been up for three days straight before they had finally gotten her to bed. Josh had gone out to get something for them to eat, but Maya told him where she was going and he sent a quick message encouraging her.

‘Friends don’t stop being friends just because they’re busy, you’re all getting used to this whole college thing, but I know you and you’re all just going to end up in the same place as before, only a little stronger,’ he had written back.

It was just after nine at night when they ventured out towards Riley’s dorm, Maya wondering if Riley ever kicked that early to bed habit she had had growing up. As they passed the quad it had begun to snow around them, it was still early in the season for it, but surprising no the less.

“Snow,” Maya said holding out her hand.

“I guess it’s the perfect time then,” he said smiling.

Riley loved the snow, she was born in December so of course anything that reminded her of the season was on her list of happy thoughts. “Let’s go make up for lost time then,” she said with a smile.

Josh met them halfway there, a bag full of food and drinks, “You left Smackle behind?” he asked as they stood in front of Riley’s dorm.

“I feel bad about that,” Farkle said as he ran his fingers through his hair. “She hasn’t slept in days and I don’t want to wake her up. I know she’s close to solving that problem but she needs the sleep.”

“Don’t worry, I take her to breakfast in the morning with Riley and we can talk over a stack of pancakes, it’ll be a new tradition and Riley loves traditions,” Maya said smiling, they had a lot of traditions growing up, but maybe it was time for them to create some new ones.

Josh knocked on the door to Riley’s room, when a familiar voice screamed out, “Finally,” Zay swung the door open just as Riley and Lucas jumped off of her bed to see who was at the door.

“Peaches,” Riley squealed out jumping to her feet and skipping towards the door before launching herself into Maya’s arms. “I thought I was going to have to rip that sketchbook out of your hands.”

Maya couldn’t help but laugh as her best friend’s arms squeezed her tightly, she felt Riley reach over and pull Farkle into the hug, just as Lucas and Zay launched themselves into the group.

“Someone’s missing,” Riley said looking around, and Maya knew that she was looking for Smackle.

“Sorry but Smackle is dead to the world right now,” Farkle said with a smile. “She’s been trying to solve one of those impossible problems and we finally got her to sleep.”

“Oh, okay,” Riley said but Maya could see the puppy dog face, the girl was pouting and Maya couldn’t help but laugh because it was such a Riley thing.

“Don’t worry sweetie, we’ll take Smackle out to breakfast tomorrow and you can mommy her then,” Maya said as she pulled Riley into the room.

Zay settled next to Charlie, while Riley’s roommate Sam sat on the floor in front of her bed, Maya couldn’t help but watch the three of them. It was strange, only because she knew that Riley had the tendency to adopt people she met and bring them into the group, but it seemed as if Sam and Charlie joining them was something Maya hadn’t expected.

“We were about to watch BuzzFeed: Unsolved,” Sam said as she pulled some pillows down and patted the floor next to her. “Join us,” she smiled and Maya knew that she could be friends with Sam, she just needed to spend more time with her.

“Riley hates that show,” Maya said laughing.

“No, I don’t,” Riley screamed out sending a pillow towards Maya’s head. “I like it just fine, I like a good mystery.”

“She just doesn’t like horror movies,” Farkle added.

“Which reminds me,” Lucas said as everyone started to settle down. “We’re going to one of those haunted places, Riley thought it would be a good end of the semester thing.”

“Riley,” Maya said as she looked over at her best friend. “I’m shocked that you would even want to do that.”

“Well I thought as long as we’re together we can do it, plus I’m handcuffing myself to Lucas so that we’re not separated like back in sophomore year when we went to Sleepy Hollow.”

“And it’s an overnight trip too,” Sam added smiling at the group.

Zay started laughing as Riley pulled herself closer to Lucas, “I’ll be fine,” she said but Maya knew that this was going to be one of those times when Riley ran screaming into the night.

“Sure, why not,” Maya said before getting up and sitting next to her best friend. “I’m sorry I didn’t visit.”

“It’s okay, you were busy, we all were, but I knew that eventually you would just show up, and if you didn’t I was going to drag you over here anyway,” Riley said putting her arms around Maya. “I missed you Peaches.”

“I missed you two Riles,” Maya said before watching Farkle get up and throw himself on top of them, Lucas holding Riley closer. It was hard to imagine a life without them, even if they didn’t speak for a short while, they were family. A family that had started with just the four of them and grew each year. They all had lives now, but they also had each other.

 _This was the perfect way to end the semester_ , Maya thought, _catching up with her friends_.


	13. Episode Thirteen – Girl Meets Winter Break

### Week One

Riley had been home for two days before everything went to hell, and that was only because she had forgotten to call Maya the day after they had gotten back from school. Riley knew that no matter how many emails she had sent, how many times she had seen Maya, eventually something would happen between the two of them. The semester had been four months, they had been leading separate lives for the most part because Riley was in one department and Maya was in another. Their dorms were far away from one another, and they both had boyfriends. But the day after they had returned, Riley had been so tired that she ended up sleeping twelve hours and by the time she had woken up, it had been three in the morning, and that was not the time to be texting or calling, especially since Maya normally fell asleep around one and sometimes slept well into late morning.

“Of course, you didn’t call,” Maya had said the moment they had entered Riley’s room. “You spent six and a half weeks without me, hanging out with your new friends. You never called me once during that time, you don’t even need me, so I don’t know why I bother, you should go out and be with your new friends.”

“Maya they’re your friends too you know,” Riley had said as she sat down at the bay window, watching Maya pace back and forth in front of her, ranting to her even though Riley had tried constantly to be there for her best friend. Apparently making new ones wasn’t an option.

“No, Zay and Huckleberry are my friends, your roommate and Charlie aren’t,” Maya said before stopping and turning to face her. “Are you trying to replace me?”

“No Maya, I just know how busy you were, and I thought hey Maya’s actually liking school for once, so I wrote the emails because I wanted you to know I was thinking about you,” she said and felt like slamming her head into the window. She knew that this was going to be a conversation they would end up having over and over again until Maya was comfortable being around new people, even if one of those people she had known in middle school.

“But you didn’t come find me, you didn’t look for me,” Maya yelled back at her, before grabbing on of the pillows on the edge of Riley’s bed and throwing it towards the headboard.

“I did you big dummy,” Riley yelled back, she needed to get the tension out as much as Maya did, Maya didn’t know what had happened during those weeks. It wasn’t just up to Riley to seek her out, Maya should have tried as well. “And every time I did you weren’t in your room, and then I’d get a message from Josh telling me where you were. So, don’t go blaming this only on me when you could have come to my room and found me.”

“But you went out and got new friends,” Maya yelled out as if she was ignoring what Riley had said and at this point Riley couldn’t understand why they were yelling, but she was certain that Maya needed to get through this and yell it out just to get it out of her system. “You got new friends and you didn’t care about me anymore.”

“Maya, damn it I never stopped caring, but we were going to live separate lives at some time, we’re not attached at the hip, I’m allowed to make more friends,” Riley said to her, realizing that the main problem in all of this was that Maya was afraid of being abandoned except, in the end of all of this the one who had been abandoned was Riley. She tried her best, but sometimes, a lot of the time lately, her best with Maya wasn’t possible.

“But it wasn’t supposed to happen now?” Riley could hear the hurt in her best friend’s voice, and she knew that at some point she was going to have to work on making sure that Maya would be alright without her, even when Riley was right next to her.

“And when did you think it was going to happen huh? When we’re fifty and you live in some commune and I move to some far-off place?” she said without thinking, she was angry that Maya could even think that she hadn’t been trying, their relationship had been based on Riley always being there, they barely had fights. Maybe it was inevitable that this one would happen.

“No,” Maya said back before sitting down on the bench next to Riley. “I just didn’t expect it, and then yesterday you didn’t call, and I guess I felt like you didn’t need me anymore.” Maya looked deflated, Riley felt awful, they were a pair of angsty teenagers trying to figure out how to survive college, how to survive the last of their teenage years.

“Aww Peaches,” Riley put her arms around her best friend and held her close. “This was bound to happen, but in the end you’re still my best friend in all of the world. We just grew in different ways,” she said knowing that there were going to have to have this conversation a couple of times before Maya realized that Riley wasn’t going anywhere even if they didn’t see each other for a few days. “And I didn’t call yesterday because I actually slept the day away and didn’t wake up until late at night, and I know how much you love to sleep.”

“I do like sleeping,” Maya said wiping tears off her face, Riley never mentions them falling, she knows that Maya hates it when people see her cry at any point in her life. “Do you like Sam more than me?”

“No,” Riley answers automatically, she’s still getting to know her roommate, and they have a shared history with the same bully in their lives, but the relationship is still new. “I mean I do like her, but you’re my sister Peaches, no one else compares. It’s just that Sam is a new friend and I’m still getting to know her, and I think that you need to get to know her too, I mean you two have a lot in common you know.”

“Yeah right, what could I have in common with her, she went to Einstein Academy,” Riley watched as Maya rolled her eyes at the thought of her having anything in common with someone who’s smart.

“Well, you both like really bad horror movies, she’s becoming a doctor, but she sometimes likes to make videos, like those gory videos you watch on YouTube when you think no one is watching, and you’d like them, heck you could probably help her with them.”

“Well I do like watching them,” Maya said staring out into Riley’s room. “What kind does she like to make? There’s whole genres of gore to watch, especially in horror movies.”

“Well,” Riley said smiling, knowing that if she found something that would get them together it would be a step forward, and maybe it would mean that Maya would have a new friend. “She joined some club on campus that’s making a horror movie in the tunnels under the buildings around the quad, she works with them to make sure everything is realistic, maybe if you joined her you could help them with set design and things like that.”

“I do like mixing art and horror,” Maya said smiling at the thought, which only made Riley shiver. Somehow, she knew that this was a bad idea, and whatever the two of them got around to making, well Riley would never watch it because it would give her nightmares.

“Now I’m just afraid of the two of you getting together,” she said feeling squeamish just thinking about it.

“Your fault,” Maya yelled out before laughing. “What’s up with soufflé?”

“Charlie, Maya, his name is CHARLIE,” Riley sounded out his name on purpose, because she didn’t want Maya to hurt the guy’s feelings.

“Whatever,” Maya said but then her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine what is up with Charlie?”

“Nothing, I think he likes having friends that have known him for a while, he came here without anyone he knew from high school. Plus, him and Zay both went through break ups so they’re dealing with it together.” Thinking about Zay made Riley’s heart hurt even more, because while Maya knew about the breakup she didn’t know about the extent of Zay’s pain over the last few months, and Riley wasn’t going to break his confidence by telling someone about what had happened either.

“And you and Lucas?” Maya asked pulling Riley out of her thoughts.

“Um, well,” she started but she wasn’t sure if she should talk about it because he parents were in the house and she knew that her father would have one of his freak out moments if he knew anything was happening between her and Lucas even if it was something innocent.

“Spill,” Maya said before holding out her right hand, pointing at her ring for the first time since she had walked into Riley’s room.

Riley groaned to herself before getting up and closing her door, she didn’t want the chance of her father listening in on anything in regards to Lucas because he would never let her boyfriend in the house ever again.

“This must be good if you’re closing the door,” Maya said watching as Riley moved to make sure that the door was secure, putting towels on the floor in front of the door.

“It’s nothing scandalous, it’s just that I think whenever I’m home my dad can hear everything, and I don’t want Lucas to get kicked out forever,” Riley took a deep breath before confessing to her best friend about her relationship’s recent developments. “Most nights, I sleep over at Lucas’s dorm or he sleeps over at mine, it’s innocent, all we do is cuddle… and sometimes we make out, but nothing more than that.”

“That’s more than I would have thought, I would swear that you would never get to any step pass handholding with him.”

“We make out, we’re a normal couple and everything,” Riley said defending her relationship with Lucas, yes they’ve been together for years, and while most couples have moved onto more physical parts of their relationships, like Farkle and Smackle, Riley just wasn’t ready for that, she was happy with the little bubble that she had created with Lucas.

“Yes, yes you are sweetie, but your father has severely stunted your relationship from the beginning, but I’m glad that you two are happy.”

“Thanks,” Riley smiled. “How about you and Josh?” she asked knowing that Josh had told her a lot already, but there were things that only Maya could tell her.

“Riles, you talk to Josh all of the time, you probably know more about my relationship than my own parents do,” Maya said to her and Riley knew that her best friend was wrong about that.

“I know a lot of things about your relationship yes, but I guess we should still talk about it, because while I know about it, I only know Josh’s part of the relationship.”

“You just want me to talk about my feelings,” Maya huffed before leaning against the windows. “Fine I’ll talk about my feelings, I love him okay, he’s nice and kind, and he’s my boing,” Maya said in a rush, but Riley could see something more in her best friend’s eyes, on the rising blush on her face.

“Awww,” Riley said as she held her hands against her chest, smiling at her best friend. “That’s what I like to hear, it’s still weird because I don’t want you to be my aunt, because it creepy and weird, but you’re happy… have you told him that yet? That you know you love him?”

“No,” Maya choked out, as if tell Josh was the biggest no no in the world. “Actually, I haven’t said that much,” her voice got quiet and Riley thought it was cute to see Maya acting all flustered about her relationship. “But I want to do it at New Years, so that we can start the new years on a happy note.”

“Awwwww,” Riley threw her arms around her best friend already planning New Year’s on the roof, with her friends and family.

The two of them spent the rest of the day catching up with one another, planning New Year’s, planning their trip, and trying to find ways for the two of them to hang out more. They spent the week leading up to Christmas at each other’s houses, Riley trying to find ways to get Maya to tell Josh she loves him, without waiting for New Years, while Maya planned her perfect New Years kiss with her boyfriend.

They were sitting at Topanga’s in their favorite seats, the day before Christmas, as Riley pulled out the secret Santa box. Sam and Charlie had joined them, their group clustered together. As Riley put the box at the center of the table before sitting on Lucas’s lap and giving him a quick kiss. The sound of a cup breaking made her jump until she was sitting in between him and Maya. One look at the counter and she saw her dad with a look on his face, that reminded Riley that she wasn’t at school, and any form of public displays weren’t allowed anymore.

“You know he’s crazy,” Maya said looking over at Riley’s dad before laughing. “You’re eighteen years old, he can’t do anything.”

“Yeah but it’s a reflex at this point,” Lucas said before taking the box and shaking it only to notice that it was empty. “Didn’t you put the names in?”

“No,” Riley said with a smile. “We’re not going to do secret Santa this year, instead I’m inviting everyone over for Christmas, we’re going to watch Christmas movies and talk, because that’s what we need to do this year. That way some of us can get to know our new friends and reconnect with those we’ve known for years. It’s the best present of all.”

“Where is this happening?” Sam asked since she the newest of her friends.

“My house,” Riley said with a smile. “My parents are going to Philly after we open presents, and I asked if I could stay here, since Josh is staying too, they said yes.”

“You’re not visiting your parents?” Maya said looking over at her boyfriend. “But you always visit them.”

“They’re coming up for New Years, and I’m working the day after, so the drive would make it impossible for me to stay awake,” he said before kissing Maya on the head and walking back to the counter to get their drinks.

“He’s staying because he wants to spend the holiday with his girl,” Zay said smiling, it was genuine, which meant that he was happy, and Riley was glad that he had found his peace.

That’s how the nine of them found themselves in Riley’s living room watching A Christmas Story with bags and bags of candy, popcorn, and somehow a bucket of fried chicken in front of them. Maya and Sam were plotting some crazy thing for the movie Sam was working on, that now had Maya as a set designer, while Josh put in his two cents in on whenever the two had gone off the deep end. Lucas was talking with Farkle and Smackle, they were catching up on what they had all missed out on. Riley kept going back and forth to the kitchen, she couldn’t help but feel like something was missing until Lucas handed her a bag of her favorite gummy bears, and some popcorn with chocolate in it.

It had taken all night just for her to settle in, but after a while when they were all quiet and watching the movie, even when Maya threw popcorn at the screen whenever there was something that she hated, usually something dumb. Riley had noticed something happening between Zay and Charlie, they were having a hushed conversation, or they were poking fun at something. Riley wondered if maybe they liked each other as more than friends, but she didn’t want to meddle, she wanted them to find it for themselves.

### Week Two

When New Year’s Eve, came rolling around, Riley found herself working on the roof, hoping that the heaters worked properly so that no one would have to wear more than a sweater while they watched the fireworks happen as the ball dropped. Farkle had helped her get them, and helped her set them up, both of them quiet while they worked. It wasn’t until they had put the tables together and set up the drink station that she turned to him.

“You’ve been… quiet,” she said wondering if anything was wrong. “I hope this isn’t going to end up like the fight I had with Maya.” She didn’t want another fight, she just wanted everyone to be happy and healthy, no drama, just friends, except they had this weird thing hanging over their heads and they needed to get through it.

“No,” he said to her, and she could almost feel herself sigh in relief before Farkle started talking again. “Nothing like that really, it’s just I feel awful.”

“No,” she said putting her hand out to stop him from saying anything else, she doesn’t want anyone to feel bad for anything, they all lived and moved on from feeling bad. “It happened, we’ll survive, please I don’t think I can handle another person freaking out.” She really couldn’t not after the fight with Maya the week before. It was heartbreaking and sad, and while it helped out their relationship, Riley really hated fighting with people.

“But Riley, I didn’t say or do anything, I let myself get caught up in all of my classes, classes that by the way were up to par with everything I’ve been studying my whole life,” he said trying to reason with her, but she knew it was better for him to feel happy with where his life was going.

“Yes, and that’s good, plus according to Josh and Maya, you took Smackle out all of the time, all that matters is that we all find our way back to one another,” she said smiling at him hoping that it would take the strain off what her genius best friend was feeling.

Farkle nodded at her before sitting down on one of the nearby chairs. “Zay told me about what happened,” he said before looking up at her with sadness in his eyes. She knew that Zay telling anyone other than Riley and Lucas was a big step for him, but the fact that Farkle had to learn about it after the fact was probably hurting the genius. “He told me about how you and Lucas, and Charlie, and even Sam helped pull him out of where his head was taking him.”

She sighed before walking over to where he had sat down and kneeled in front of him. “It’s not your fault, it’s not any of our fault, it happened and it’s over.” It wasn’t anyone’s fault, people go through things, she knew this more than most because she had lived through a lot of hard moments, some she had help from her friends to getting over them, while others she still lived with, because her insecurities weren’t going to go away overnight.

“But that’s the thing, I wasn’t there for him either, he’s one of my best friends in the whole world and I felt like I abandoned him.”

“Farkle, honestly you didn’t, the same way that Maya and I will always come back to one another, because we’re all family, but anyway, things happen. I know what happened with Zay was just too much for anyone to handle, but honestly, he’s actually happier now. He had therapy once a week at school, he’s raising hell with Sam and Charlie, and maybe one day he’ll move on from what had happened with Cassie.” It was all the truth, Zay was getting better, and him talking to Farkle about it was a part of that.

“But,” he started but Riley put her hand on his mouth.

“No buts, it happened it’s over and all you need to do is be there for him, be his friend again, and don’t blow anything up.”

Farkle sighed before nodding, he looked defeated for a moment, by his inability to help when his friend needed him the most. “I feel like I missed so much,” he said his voice just above a whisper. She knew she needed to get him to understand that even though he missed it there’s still so much more that will happen in the future and all that mattered was that they were there for one another.

“Hey just think about it this way,” she said as the idea took root in her mind. “The day you and Smackle win the Nobel, we’ll be there for you guys, just like when Lucas gets his license to be a Vet, or Maya has an opening at some huge gallery, or Zay finally gets to be a detective, or wherever I’ll be.” All of it was the truth about their lives, that while they went through things on their own, they will always find a way to celebrate to good moments together.

“Probably wherever Lucas is,” he said with a smile.

“Yes, but knowing Lucas he’s going to make sure we never leave New York fearing the wrath of my father if he even thinks of taking me away,” she told him with a smile. Lucas knew that she would probably never leave the city she had grown up in, even though she wouldn’t mind going somewhere different.

“I hope you get to go somewhere amazing Riley Matthews.”

“I hope so too, but honestly I would love to stay here, it’s my home and it’s where we’ll always find each other, our little stitched up family” she said with a smile. “Now let’s finish setting up and get this party started, and please no more heart to heart talks, at least until next year.”

They finished the set up in time for Charlie and Zay to bring up all of the food, most of which had been made by Zay who had learned to love cooking after spending one too many weekends at cooking classes with Riley. Lucas and Josh brought up the drinks as Smackle stood by setting up the plates and cups. Riley was waiting for the moment where Smackle would say something, would bring up the weeks of not talking. It hadn’t happened yet, the genius had been waiting until Riley was alone in the kitchen wrapping up the last of the platters before walking up to her and giving her a hug.

It was awkward, and it reminded Riley of the hugs Smackle used to give her years ago before she became comfortable with being her friend. But Riley wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world because it felt right.

“I know everyone is apologizing for something that naturally happened,” Smackle said once she had separated from Riley. “I on the other hand want to thank you, I know that you were the one who suggested all of the dates and all of the things that your Uncle Boing took us out too, and I also read all of the emails you sent and found them encouraging.”

“Only the best for my best friends,” Riley said with a smile.

“I needed them Riley,” Smackle said looking up at her, the awkwardness gone from her eyes. “I didn’t tell this to Farkle in the beginning, but I felt lost for a while there, I mean I could understand my classes and my new life, but there was always this fear that I wouldn’t measure up, and your emails encouraged me to try anyway. Just like how the outings helped me feel slightly more normal in my relationship, it grounded me and I’m glad for them. I hope you can continue to write them for me, even if we’re always standing next to one another.”

Riley pulled Smackle back into a tight hug, and the genius hugged her back with all of her heart, “Isadora you are a diamond in a sea of coal, and I will write you as many emails as you want if it means that you never change who you are.”

“Thank you,” Smackle whispered into Riley’s hair. They hugged for a little longer before separating, a smile on each of their faces, because Riley knew that as long as she’s helping her friends, they would always be happy, even if they’re not next to one another.

While at the party hours later, Riley realized that she hadn’t seen her boyfriend at all, only ever in passing, as their friends from high school and middle school surrounded them. Constantly pulling them in one direction or another, everyone was happy, which only made Riley happy to be there with them.

The only time Riley had stopped to look around was when she had seen Maya standing awkwardly next to Josh. Riley watched as her best friend told her boyfriend that she loved him, and that the new year would be better than ever because they were together. It was cute and adorable to watch them, because they both deserved the best in the world. The two of them were glowing, in their own little bubble and as much as the whole aunt thing weirded Riley out, she wouldn’t begrudge them their moments. They had been tip toeing over this moment for such a long time, and in the end it was the best possible outcome to watch them find their place in each other’s hearts.

That was how Lucas found her, and wrapped his arms around her waist, “Hey there princess,” Lucas whispered in her ear, making her shiver, even though it was impossible with the heaters and all of the people they knew around them. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she said as she turned around to face him. This was the closest they had been to one another since they had gotten back from school. They were always looking out for her father now, because Riley was sure he would pop up and ruin the moment. That’s how she found herself looking around to see where her parents were.

“Don’t worry, your mom is keeping him distracted,” Lucas said before wrapping his arms around her waist and slowly dancing with her, as everyone around them jumped to the music. Lucas pulled her towards the area behind the doorway where no one could actually see them before he kissed her. The world around them counting down to midnight, while Riley was safely in his arms. They didn’t separate until the fireworks had stopped and everyone was cheering around them.

“Happy New Year,” she said to him before kissing him again.

Riley wasn’t sure how it had happened, all that she remembered was someone yanking her away from Lucas, and of course the moment she saw her father chasing her boyfriend, she knew that her life would never really change, even if she didn’t speak to her friends for weeks. They always had a way of making it back to one another. Just like how her father was going to keep chasing Lucas away because it was the only way to protect his daughter’s virtue.

“You know it’s nice to know that somethings don’t change around here,” Maya said standing next to Riley while they watched Riley’s father chase Lucas around for daring to kiss his daughter in front of him, or even try to hide the kiss at all.

“Why is this my life,” Riley groaned before covering her face in her best friend’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, one day your dad would old and slow and he wouldn’t have the ability to chase after Lucas,” Maya said with glee in her voice.

“Lies,” Riley said as she pulled away from Maya’s shoulder. “He’ll get one of those motorized scooters and chase him down the street with it, screaming about kids these days.”

That was the start of her new year, sadly it was the same as any other, and it left Riley hoping for the day when her father would stop chasing Lucas and let them be a couple without the worry.

### Week Three

The first weekend after New Year’s, found the group of nine in two cars driving almost six hours to East Bethany, because Riley had made the mistake of letting everyone else pick where they were going to do the ghost tour, and of course it was after Sam, Zay, and Maya had watched the episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved on Rolling Hills Asylum. The three of them wanted to meet Roy, the seven-foot-tall inmate of the asylum. Riley regretted her decision to do this after that, because while she could act like she was strong, she was everything but strong when it came to the scary creepy things.

So, Riley and Lucas, along with Farkle and Smackle were in Lucas’s car, while Maya, Charlie, Zay, and Sam were driving with Josh in his car. The reason why they had decided on this set up for the journey all had to do with Riley trying to avoid any talk about blood, gore, and anything creepy. She wanted to enjoy the drive up, considering how long it was, especially since the Asylum was close to Niagara Falls. Riley wanted to get her friends to go there instead, but since Farkle’s dad helped them arrange the overnight trip, Riley was trapped in a scary nightmare of her own making.

“There it is,” Farkle said to Lucas before they had missed the turn off and fulfilling Riley’s dream of not having to do this haunted disaster.

Maya was honking Josh’s horn as they drove up the driveway towards their destination, the group in the other car excited about the trip.

“Don’t worry,” Lucas said once Smackle and Farkle had left the car. “I’ve got you.”

Riley couldn’t help but smile at her boyfriend, especially since she still had nightmares about them getting separated in a place like the one they were about to go into. She could be strong, they wouldn’t stop her from trying would they. Somewhere deep inside of her heart she wished that one of them had said that she didn’t have to go. But she had been dumb enough to trying and defend herself to the group and now her heart was pounding and she felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin.

“Okay,” Smackle said as they all gathered up in front of the cars. “Farkle and I are going to be conducting an experiment while we’re here, so you all have to wear these monitors. As well as these body cameras, because Maya and Sam want footage of what we do for what I don’t know, and I don’t really care.”

Smackle and Farkle handed out a few containers, one for each of them, and inside were everything they were going to need, including a spirt box, because Maya had wanted to see if she would be able to talk to ghost, even though she was skeptical about them existing, she just wanted her chance.

“Everyone, grab your sleeping bags, and let’s go meet with the caretaker,” Farkle said to the group.

Riley stood at the back with Lucas holding her hand, she knew that he could feel the sweat accumulating from her hand and she was embarrassed about it. Several times she tried and failed to pull away, the last time she tried he pulled her close and put her hand near his heart.

“I’ve got you,” he said as they walked forward.

That night had been a restless sleepless disaster for Riley, one that she honestly couldn’t remember much of, and what she did remember was stuck in her nightmares for the days after. There had been a moment where Maya and Sam and jumped out of a dark corner, scaring Riley so bad that she had tripped and fallen into a dark hallway, where she could swear she heard someone screaming. There was also a time in the middle of the night when Lucas had gone to the bathroom leaving Riley alone, which freaked her out even more when she heard moaning coming from somewhere, only to run screaming into the hallway and finding Maya and Josh furiously making out.

Instead of going back to sleep after that, Lucas took her for a walk to try and calm her down, only for a bat to come flying out of some dark corner, freaking her out so much that she had pulled a piece of wood from the floor and flung it across the room, while she ran the other way. The problem with that was that she had accidentally hit Lucas instead of the bat and left him behind. He found her down the hallway five minutes later crying because the zombies were going to get her, and she didn’t want that to happen.

By morning she was a complete wreck and she hadn’t slept at all, so of course when they were walking towards the car she tripped and fell down, spraining her ankle on the way to the ground. Lucas drove them to the nearby hospital and for what felt like the millionth time in her life, her foot was in a boot and she was told to keep off of it for two weeks.

So, of course this meant having her friends play the video of Riley’s journey through the asylum when they got back, laughing when she had wacked Lucas with the two by four.

“It’s not funny you guys,” Riley said moping in her bed while everyone else sat around her. Lucas was rubbing her arms and kissing her head until she felt safe enough to fall asleep again.

Even though she hadn’t really liked the trip she was glad that everyone had had a fun time, because they had done it together, and it felt normal for them. It wasn’t until she had seen the statistics of Smackle and Farkle’s study, that Riley had realized that she hadn’t been the only one who had been scared that night. Lucas’s heart freaked out whenever there was a rat around, because as much as he loves animals he doesn’t like rats. The footage of Zay showed him walking around with Charlie, both of them holding out water guns, that Riley later found out had been filled with holy water. Maya had been immune to it, her heart had only jumped when she had been making out with Josh, which to Riley meant that they had been way too into their make out session, since they had been in a haunted asylum. Smackle and Farkle had been too into their research that they hadn’t registered anything that had happened. And Sam had been filming a million things, so she hadn’t really thought about what had been happening, she had just wanted extra material for the movie she was filming.

It was nice to know that her friends had had fun, even she hadn’t, and it had only gone and cemented their friendships more because it had been an experience they had had together.

### Week Four

Riley had been stuck at home for the last two weeks of her winter break, Lucas visited until he had to go on vacation with his parents to Texas, leaving her alone without him. Maya and Josh had been planning a date slash birthday celebration for Maya’s 19th birthday, because Josh had wanted to take her out on a special dinner. The only one who visited her was Zay because he had been trying to find his center in all of the madness. Smackle and Farkle had finally gotten a date night that they had planned, with Riley’s help, to celebrate Smackle getting the unsolvable problem solved, earning the genius a hefty prize.

“I miss Lucas,” Riley had told Zay as they started watching The Notebook, it was one of Zay’s favorite movies, and while Riley loved a good romance, she didn’t have the heart to watch it at the moment.

“I know sugar, but don’t worry he’ll be back,” Zay said as he used her nail polish on her toes. He had grabbed every color and painted each toe a different one, it was something he did with his mother, and he had wanted to cheer Riley up so he did it for her too.

“I know,” she said sigh to herself before she remembered the looks that Charlie and Zay had been sending one another. “By the way, is there anyone you like right now?”

“Riley,” he said looking up at her. “I don’t know if I want to be in a relationship right now.”

“I didn’t say that, it’s just that sometimes it’s good to have a crush on someone, to find a way of moving on from what had happened,” she said looking down at her hands because she was afraid of meddling again.

“Yeah, but it might be breaking the bro code,” he mumbled, and Riley’s head shot up looking at him.

“I’m not getting involved,” she said to him before changing the subject to safer topics. Zay had to go through this on his own, and Riley couldn’t get involved, she was only wishing for his happiness and that’s all that mattered to her.

Zay finished her toes, and out of boredom let her paint his, but she only painted them one color, which surprisingly cheered him up a bit. They talked, and her father checked in on her every once and a while, he was fine with Zay being there, or Farkle but if it had been Lucas forget it.

When she woke up the next day she thanked Zay for keeping her company, and then wrote that the bro code doesn’t exist between them. She didn’t elaborate, she didn’t hint at whether she knew who Zay liked, she kept it simple. She got an ‘Ok’ as a reply and went about her day once again, only to be pulled towards the bay window by Maya two hours later.

“Well something happened on your date with Josh,” Riley said smiling at her best friend, who for some reason was all smiles and blushes. “Oh god I don’t want to know.” Riley did her best to cover her ears because honestly, she didn’t want to hear about where this conversation was about to go, except Maya held out her hand.

“Ring power to the tenth degree,” Maya said forcing Riley to uncover her ears. “You promised me if we ever went to that next step we would talk about it.”

“Maya that had been before seventh grade, we had talked about that before you and Josh got together, we talked about what it would be like to find someone we loved, but this… this maybe too much,” Riley said thinking back to those preteen years, when she had wanted to be like Maya, only to find herself and be happy.

“Well it happened, and I need my best friend to talk about it with,” Maya said looking at her, giving Riley a pleading look.

“Fine, but the day it happens to me I’m locking myself away and never telling you,” Riley said leaning back against the bay window before turning and putting her foot on Maya’s lap. “Now spill.”

“You’re going to tell me, I already know you are because we share our experiences with each other,” Maya said before tickling Riley’s toes. “Nice paint job by the way.”

“Yeah well Zay was bored so I let him, now spill.”

Maya went into detail about how special the night had been, and how they had ended up back at Josh’s place, he was a total gentleman, and they had only decided on making out.

“But I told him that I was ready, and even brought a condom and everything, because a girl has to be prepared, and he had been my first for a lot of things, and it felt perfect, so of course he lit some candles,” Maya said with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Oh god I’m not ready for this conversation,” Riley said wanting to cover her ears, only to have Maya continue her story. “How do you feel?” Riley asked once her best friend was done.

“A little sore, he was so sweet to me the whole time, and then he said he was scared too because it was his first time, which surprise the hell out of me.”

“Maya you two have been together for almost two years now, he never really dated anyone other than you, I should know because he used to talk about you all of the time. I mean he’s kissed other girls, and tried to be a normal guy, but it had always been you who he had gravitated towards.”

“That’s sweet,” Maya said to her. “I always wondered about what it would have felt like the first time around.”

“Did it live up to your expectations?”

“Yes and no,” Maya said leaning back onto the window, “I mean it felt perfect, but I hadn’t expected the pain, which means you have to expect it too.”

“Nope, I swear my wedding night is going to be the only time that happens, well not the only time, but the first time.”

“You want to walk down that road? Not trying before then?”

“Yes, plus it gives my father less ammunition against Lucas,” Riley said before she could yawn. “I think we need to celebrate this moment, and I say we do it by eating pancakes and watching some teen movie where the same thing happens to the couple.”

“I hear you,” Maya said standing up and pulling out her phone, they ordered breakfast from the only place nearby that delivers, making sure to order pancakes and sausage, because Maya thought there should be sausages as a euphemism, adding an omelet and bacon for them to split while they watched a random movie that had nothing to do with the moment, but it felt nice to just do something just the two of them.

### Week Five

When the last week of their break came around Riley was exhausted because of everything that had happened with everyone that she hid in her room, curtains closed and slept for two days, only to find out later that she had caught a cold and that’s why she had been so tired. Lucas had shown up with a cup of soup and a warm fleece blanket that he had gotten her from Texas, tucking her in and feeding her soup.

“Don’t worry too much,” he had said to her before the medication had lulled her to sleep.

The cold had lasted until the day she had her boot taken off which was the day before she had to go back to school. She was fully rested and happy, because her friends were there with her, her dad was still the same, and her boyfriend, while not perfect, was still the one who helped hold her together.


	14. Episode Fourteen – Girl Meets Spring Semester

There was a mad dash to get coffee before they left to go back to Maya’s school, Josh just wanted the morning with the two of them alone, since he knew that with his school year ramping up, he wouldn’t have the chance to visit as often as possible. They needed to schedule their lives around one another again and he wasn’t really excited at the prospect. He liked their weekends together, their dates, their lives, but he knew that Maya needed more time with Riley since they had a weird start to college so he wanted to give them that.

“I don’t wanna go,” Maya said slumping next to him on the couch at Topanga’s, “Too tired, want to go to sleep.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the way she was acting because it was adorable to him, nearly two years together and he kept finding things he would think were dumb but were actually adorable. “I know Maya but you have to go, you’re a good student and you don’t want to fall behind,” he said before pulling her closer and letting her slump over on him to the point where he was sure that she would fall asleep if he didn’t give her coffee.

“I wish we could be like Riley and Lucas,” she mumbled to him before burrowing her face into his scarf. “They get all of this time together, and we have to commute for our dates, it’s not fair.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad, plus soon I’ll be up there with you and you’ll get sick of having me around all of the time,” he pulled off his scarf and put it around her neck, she would at least be warm.

Maya’s mother walked over to them smiling, “She giving you any trouble there?” the older woman said.

Josh shook his head and smiled, “Not a bit, she just needs some coffee and she’ll be alright.”

“That’s why I’m here,” she said as she placed their cups in front of them. “Take care of her on the way up to the school, I would love to go but Shawn is taking me somewhere so I can’t.”

“Don’t worry mom,” Maya mumbled through the scarf. “I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah I know, just be good baby girl,” Maya’s mother walked over giving Maya a kiss, then squeezing Josh’s shoulder before going back to the counter and working on stocking the display.

Josh handed Maya her coffee, getting a smile from her before she pulled down his scarf and taking a sip. She sighed once she finished, and smiled at the cup like it was the elixir of life.

“Feeling better,” he said once she put the cup back down.

“Yeah, would feel way better if you were with me at school though,” she sighed before leaning back into him. “I was serious, about wishing for what Riley and Lucas have, they sleepover in each other’s rooms, they have lunch dates, and all of that, and I want it.”

“Riley and Lucas get to have sleepovers because they go to the same school, while we don’t, we do have things that they don’t,” he said trying to bring forward the Brightside of their relationship.

“Yeah but I never get to see you like that, it’s just I guess it’s something I want.”

“Maya do you want to live with me? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Maybe, I guess it’s just that I’m a little jealous that they get all of that and we don’t.”

“Maya, my sweet, sweet girlfriend, just because Riley and Lucas have sleepovers doesn’t mean that we can’t...”

Josh was going to say more but a cup shattered behind them causing the two of them to jump, before seeing his brother standing behind them. His eyes wide as he looked between Maya and Josh, which means he heard some of their conversation, and Josh knew that they were in for it soon. Before he could stop Cory, his older brother moved so fast he hadn’t had the chance to grab him. He knew that Riley and Lucas were going to be in the middle of a storm the moment her father reached them, and Josh felt a little guilty, and from the look Maya had on her face so did she. The two of them sighed and got up, moving towards the exit, Josh texting his sister in law, who was probably asleep, on the way to his car.

\------

Riley wondered why there was such a long time between semesters in college, it was five weeks of being at home, five weeks of going out with her friends, hanging out with her family, and of course getting sick. Now that the new semester was starting, she felt as if she had done nothing notable during the break even though she had gone out constantly. The break wasn’t as important as getting internships during the summer months, but it still felt weird not doing anything that would benefit her future. Now the spring semester was going to start and she wasn’t sure how she would be able to pay for things with the little money she did have saved up.

“You know sugar,” Zay said as he helped her with her bags. “You could have packed a little less, I mean you didn’t even take this much with you when you left.”

“Not my fault,” she said with a smile while carrying her laundry bag which was filled with extra pillows and blankets. “I didn’t know I needed all of this until I didn’t have it with me,” which was true, especially since people were always in her room hanging out, more so now that Maya, Josh, Farkle, and Smackle were feeling more comfortable with coming over and not living in their own little lovey dovey world. Which Riley thought it was cute, that they were all so in love, but she had missed her friends.

Zay sighed, before Charlie walked up and grabbed the other end of Riley’s suitcase and helping Zay up the stairs with it. She really hadn’t thought about bringing so much with her, but with Lucas always hanging out in her room, and now that her and Maya were going to figure out how to hang out more. There was a need to have things around, clothes to share, or more pillows so that Lucas wouldn’t sacrifice his arm to her. Even though she liked the feeling of his arms around her when they were watching movies, it only became a problem when they fell asleep and she ended up with his arm as a pillow.

“Oh, Riley,” Maya said as she rushed up towards her, “Josh said to tell you that he’s sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” Riley asked wondering what her Uncle could feel sorry about, they hadn’t seen much of each other since he had gone with Maya to Philly the week before the semester started. She knew that he was nearby too, because he had been helping Maya with her bags not too long ago, so now he was hiding from her too.

“Um well,” she said not looking her in the eye, “He may or may not have accidentally told your dad about Lucas staying over in your room a lot.”

“What?” Riley yelled out dropping the bag she had been holding, watching it as it rolled down the stairs. “What do you mean he accidentally told my dad, Maya my dad shouldn’t know things like that.”

“Well it was an accident, we were talking at the café, before we came back up here, and I was telling Josh about how I wish he could sleep over at my dorm with me like you and Lucas do and Josh was saying that maybe on a few weekends, that way we could all hang out more, and your dad had been standing behind us the entire time... so... yeah that happened,” she said and Riley knew it was an accident but what she was afraid of was her father showing up and ruining one of the good things that had kept her grounded during the first semester away from home.

“Maya, I need my Lucas time, we’re all so busy and it’s going to get busier and oh god my father is going to be in my room the minute I get up there isn’t he,” she said as the realization dawned on her. There’s only so much her mother could do to stop him, but if she didn’t know that he was coming up here with the pretext of knowing something then she wouldn’t stop him.

“Hey Riley,” Sam said as she was walking towards them, “your dad is in our room, and he’s doing something weird.”

Riley left the laundry bag and ran to her room just as Zay and Charlie were dropping off her stuff, watching as her father tapped up her window with a sheet, she noticed that some of her drawers had been opened as if he had been looking for something.

“Dad,” she yelled out looking at her room in horror. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Boys, I’m trying to keep boys away,” he said a nervous hitch in his voice. “No boys, boys bad, boys will take away my little girl’s innocence.”

Without even thinking she walked in and pulled him away from her window, forcing him to look her in the eye, “This is going too far,” she said to him her voice hard with anger. “I’m eighteen years old, I’m allowed to grow up, nothing is happening between me and Lucas that you don’t already know about.”

“But sex,” he started but before he could say anything, she put her hand up to stop him.

“No,” she said to him. “This is an invasion of privacy, I’m not living at home, you had no right to do this,” she could feel anger rolling through her, when she was growing up, she thought it was nice to have him worry, but now it was going too far. “Lucas and I only sleep in the same bed, and mostly it’s because we’re watching movies, his clothes which you have thrown all over this room are only here because I tend to steal them from his room, it’s a thing, girl’s steal their boyfriend’s sweaters all of the time.”

“That’s true Matthews,” Maya said from the door, she was actually wearing Josh’s NYU hoodie which long enough to be a dress on her, especially with how tall Josh was compared to the blonde.

“Now take all of that off the window, and get out before I call mom and tell her what you did,” she said knowing that her father’s Achilles heel was her mother, even after all of these years he was still afraid of making her angry.

Her father mumbled a fine, before undoing all of his work, Riley got to work on picking up what he had taken out of her drawers, looking for who knows what, while Zay brought in her laundry bag which had been left at the bottom of the stairs. Hiding behind him was Lucas, who didn’t dare go into the room, or let it be known that he was standing there. Rushing off she went to greet him, pulling him away from the door.

“Do I want to know what happened?” he asked once they were in the student kitchen on the other end of the hallway.

“Maya and Josh were talking about us,” she said looking up at him. “About how we tend to sleep on top of one another when we watch movies, and how she wished she could have that with Josh and well...”

“Your dad heard,” he said finishing what she was saying, before running his hand through his hair. “Will this change anything about how we are? Is he going to get crazy about me seeing you again, because I can’t afford to lose my shoes right now.”

Riley sighed, they were both in need of jobs, or at least work study, they didn’t have money most of the time, and the money they did have they saved up for when they wanted take out. Most of their dates since starting college had been to school events or just sitting in their rooms and eating what they had. They didn’t want to ask for help, it was oddly freeing for the both of them to try and make it on what they could, it was an experience for them all. But for the two of them, it was about finding ways to be together and not having to spend so money, they were trying to see how to live without relying on their families for help.

“I know,” she said to him as she put her arms around his waist and pulled him close. “I’m sorry that my dad is crazy.”

“We’ve known this for years,” he said as he kissed her hair. “Should I go to your room, or should I run.”

“I’m thinking we both could run, but that would only cause more problems, since it would leave my dad with Maya, Zay, Charlie, and Sam, and we don’t want to leave them with that level of crazy. But you can run if you want, I won’t hold it against you.”

Lucas shook his head, he wouldn’t leave her to deal with this, if anything, he would want to show her dad how much it didn’t affect them or their relationship. “If you have to deal with it so do I,” he said smiling at her before pulling away. “It’s what I signed up for when we started dating.”

“Okay but I’m going to protect you and your shoes from him today.”

“It would be an honor to have you protect me,” he smiled at her, and it still made her giddy just seeing him smile, it was strange feeling as if she could have someone just giving her butterflies for this long.

The two held hands walking back to Riley’s room, she held onto him comforting him, she didn’t want her dad to find a way to separate them. They wanted to be united in the fact that they wanted to have their little dates, and their sleepovers, where nothing happened.

Much to her surprise, her mother was standing in her room quietly yelling at her father, which only made Riley giggle, because if her mother was quiet when she was angry at you then that meant that she was really angry. Her mom smiled at her before dragging her father out into the hallway, “Seriously Cory,” she said.

Riley heard her mother telling her father about how when they were in college, they did the same things, and how there was the time where he was asking for more and she flashed him her butt, which only made Riley snort. “Honestly, those two sleeping in the same bed is still vanilla compared to how you and Shawn acted when you were in college. And yes, I know she’s your little girl Cory, but she’s technically an adult now and you had no right to come here and do that to her room.”

“But his clothes are all over the place,” he father practically squealed, which made Riley laugh harder.

“Cory, I’ve seen them, and honestly she wears Lucas’s sweaters all of the time, why is it a problem now? She probably steals them which is normal for a girl her age, it reminds me of when we were that young, but now you’re so preoccupied with making sure she doesn’t grow up I feel like you’re neglecting our relationship,” she said before turning around and winking at Riley. Her mother was up to something, and it was nice that she was using this as a teaching moment against her father.

She watched as her mother walked away, smiling, but acting like her husband wasn’t paying attention to her, Riley watched the woman who had raised her convince her husband that he didn’t care about her. Riley knew her father loved her mother, he was just overprotective, but it was interesting to watch. Instead of following her mother, her father watched her, before saying a quick goodbye to Riley and walking off. She knew that they would make up by the end of the day, her mother was just trying to make him feel guilty for ruining the beginning of the semester for Riley.

When she walked into her room, she was greeted by her friends all sitting around, Charlie and Zay on the floor with the extra pillows Riley brought with her, Maya and Josh sitting on one side of her bed, while Sam, Farkle and Smackle were on Sam’s bed.

“Well that was exciting,” Sam said making everyone laugh, it was the first time that Sam had truly been exposed to her father’s meddling, “But I think we should just relax for the rest of the day, because classes start tomorrow, and that was too much drama for the first day back.”

“Here, here,” Farkle said smiling at Smackle.

“I still don’t understand why your father is like that,” Smackle said, but there was no real answer for it. Farkle just took her hand and kissed it before turning back to the room.

“Let's just hope that he’s not going to do it again for a while,” she said before sitting on her bed with Lucas at her back. “Nope no more drama, so how about we get some food and watch a movie and we can talk about tomorrow.”

“Already ordered,” Farkle said with a smile. “We did it while your parents were fighting, or at least it looked like fighting.”

“More like her mother was plotting,” Maya said smiling at the group.

“I’m sure that Topanga is going to read him the riot act when they get back to the city, and then they’re going to do exactly what we’re all doing,” Josh said looking over at Riley. “Your mom is scary,” he added.

“That she is,” Riley said snuggling into Lucas before yawning, it really was her favorite place to be, he was always so warm.

Riley ended up falling asleep ten minutes into the movie, the fell of Lucas at her back, and the smell of his soap in her nose lulled her to sleep. No one had really noticed until the food arrived and Maya jumped off the bed so that Josh could help the guys bring up the pizza boxes, and everything else they had ordered. The bed moving made Riley wake up, but Lucas had held onto her so that she wouldn’t fall to the floor. It was a strange feel, being so comfortable around so many people that she could fall asleep without worrying about something happening.

“Have a nice nap?” he said kissing her temple. She relaxed into his arms, nodding before yawning.

“I don’t know why I’m so tired,” she said to him, the rest of the group had left them alone in the room.

“Too much excitement, I mean you and Maya have a class together this semester, we’ve scheduled our lives around each other, it’s our own little family, and you want to make sure that everyone is involved and happy.”

“It’s a good feeling,” she said to him. “Plus, it’s a little less stressful than my dad constantly being... well you know.”

“Trust me we all know, but hopefully he’s going to calm down a little after today, Josh was right about your mom being scary, and I wouldn’t want to cross her on any level.”

When the group came back into the group Maya leapt on top of Riley and Lucas, landing right on Riley’s legs, before turning and making herself comfortable on Riley’s legs, while putting her own on Josh’s. The food was spread out in front of them, everyone smiling at one another, it was weird, even with all of the time they had spent together over the break, this was more normal than anything else. She liked this more than going out and doing a million things because at least this way they would have the chance to sit and talk about things. It felt like having their little family together, which would only make her father sad, but she wanted to grow up and if it meant that the only version of family, she had around was her friends it was okay with her.

She didn’t love her own family any less, it was just a way for her to extend her family, make it grow into something bigger. This was the long game, this was life, you bring people in and make them a part of your world, and you hold on tight to those who matter to you. Her parents had embraced her friends before, and she knew that they would embrace them now as they are, because they were an extension of her. The only difference now was that her father had to learn to accept that she was growing up, she wasn’t going to stay a little girl, and while it scared him, she knew that her mother would show him that it wasn’t all that bad.


	15. Episode Fifteen – Girl Meets Game Night Truth or Dare Edition

“What about a game of Truth or Dare,” Maya said after they had finished all of the food, the group just hanging out in Riley and Sam’s room without a second thought. “I mean if you aren’t chicken.”

Riley knew that Maya was just pushing them to keep up the fun night they had been having, with the beginning of the semester the next day, why shouldn’t they have a little fun. After the stressful morning with her dad and his freak out, playing a game would be fun.

“Sure, why not,” Riley said looking around the room at her friends who all nodded their heads in agreement. Riley knew that it could be a good way for them to bond, and for some of them to have a little fun.

“Okay,” Maya said getting up and standing on the bed. “Okay, guys on that side,” she motioned for the guys to sit on Sam’s side of the room, “And girls on this side,” she hopped off the bed, kissing Josh before pushing him to the other side of the room. “Come on Lucas, time to let go of Riley and stand with the other boys.”

Riley couldn’t help but laugh before she kissed him on the cheek and sent him off to the other side of the room. The pairs were uneven, there were more guys than girls, but it’s was fine with Riley because it meant that she had her little family grow just a little more since the beginning of the school year.

“How do we start this?” Smackle asked as she settled in next to Maya, “I want to understand how this game works.” Which was Smackle speak for not being able to play the game before. Riley couldn’t help but wonder why they never played until now, but it was worth it if it meant that they would get to experience this together.

“I’ll explain in a minute Smacks,” Maya said before walking to the closet and pulling out a bag that Riley hadn’t realized was in there, but with the whole freak out moment with her father she hadn’t been paying too much attention to what Maya had been doing. Maya dumped the contents of the bag on the floor revealing everything from a mini hourglass, to the twister game that her father had hidden after he had caught Lucas and Riley playing the game.

“Do I want to know why you have that,” Riley asked pointing at the game.

“I’m giving you guys options, plus if we get bored, well we could always play twister,” Maya said smiling at her, which could only mean that she was plotting something and Riley didn’t want to know. “Anyway, we’re going to play my version of Truth or Dare,” Maya picked up a small bag before dropping out ten small colored die. Handing one to each of them, Riley couldn’t help but smile at the fact that hers was purple with little flecks of glitter inside of it.

“Maya when did you get those?” Josh said looking up at her shocked to see the dice.

“Just so you know, my boyfriend is a dork and sometimes plays D&D, but it’s cute and I like to watch him create these stories out of these little cards,” Maya confessed to the room, smiling proudly at Josh who was now blushing.

“I play,” Charlie said looking over. “We could start our own game here if you want.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn,” Smackle said blushing. “My cousins play, and I was always too busy to learn, but I think that my beloved would like it if I didn’t work so hard while I’m here, and learn to have some fun.”

“If Smackle is in I’ll join too,” Farkle said smiling brightly at his girlfriend.

“Oh... Oh,” Sam raised her hand. “I want to be the Dungeon Master,” she said bouncing up and down on Riley’s bed, making everyone stare at her, “What I played back at Einstein with a few people, but the guy who ran it swore that girls shouldn’t be the DM and I always wanted to be.”

“Well, you guys can play once a month, as long as you make sure to do all of your homework, and remember to sleep well,” Riley said making everyone laugh.

“Okay mom,” Maya said before Lucas glared at her. “Oh no dad is angry,” she said which only caused everyone to laugh even more.

“Oh god now I see it,” Zay said holding his stomach, while rolling on the ground. “They’re so the mom and dad of the group.”

“Oh, my gods,” Charlie said looking at the two of them. “They’re always making sure that we’re being the better parts of ourselves, and Lucas is always the protective one over everyone, he’s such a dad.”

“Alright, alright, time to stop and act like adults,” Riley said which only made everyone laugh even more. She gave up and slumped back onto her pillows waiting for them to stop laughing. Lucas smiled at her, and she knew while what they were saying was true in a way, she liked helping everyone, and Lucas liked protecting them all as well.

It took the group another five minutes before the laughing stopped altogether, they finally settled down. Maya explained the rules to Smackle who had somehow had found a notebook in the room and had started taking notes. Riley wasn’t sure why the genius needed notes for something as simple as truth or dare but she decided not to question her. Maya had brought the dice because she wanted them to roll for their turns, but the higher the number the bigger the secret they would reveal, or dare they would have to do.

“So how do we figure out who goes first?” Lucas asked trying to move the game along.

“We’re all going to roll and whoever gets the highest number will go first,” Maya said before sitting down on the bed facing the guys.

The nine of them rolled onto the ground watching as the dice danced on the ground, slowly spinning until they stopped. Riley thankfully didn’t get the highest number, Smackle did so the group knew that she was going to be the first to ask a question from someone else. They all looked at her, and Riley could swear her cheeks were flushing.

“Beloved,” Smackle said looking at Farkle, “Truth or Dare?”

Farkle smiled, because of course she was going to pick him, so he rolled his die again and landed on a fifteen, Maya looked over and smiled.

“You have to do something you’ve never done before, or confess something we don’t know but has to be something that will reveal something about yourself,” she said, and Riley knew that Maya had put in a lot of thought into this little game.

“I’ll take a dare then, since we need to try new things,” he said looking back at Smackle. “Give me the best dare you can think of.”

“Okay,” Smackle said looking around the room, Riley was sure that the genius was full on blushing now. “I want you to play seven minutes in heaven with me.”

Everyone turned to Smackle like she had grown a third head, before Riley realized that this is something that neither one of them would have done, even if they have furthered their relationship months ago. Smackle was asking for something that she would have experienced in high school if she had been a normal girl and not the awkward one they all knew and loved.

“You guys are so cute,” Riley said to them, making the both of them blush harder. Maya stood up and pulled the both of them towards Riley’s closet before shoving them inside and closing the door.

“Okay, while those two are in there, I guess we’ll have to pick someone else to go,” Maya said before giving nodding to everyone to roll to see who would go first.

“Somehow this feels like a D&D game,” Josh said with a smile. “Just with more action I guess.” Maya smiled at him, which meant that she was trying to find a way to make him more comfortable with letting out his inner dork, which made Riley smile because it meant that in those months that they hadn’t talked a lot, Maya had gotten to know a side of Josh that no one else did.

This time around the one with the highest number had been Riley, and while she would have loved to have a moment with Lucas, she instead turned to Zay. “Truth or Dare cookie boy,” she said smiling, reminding herself of their first year of high school.

“Truth,” he said before throwing his die, it landed on a twenty and she saw him cringe, which meant that he had wanted a smaller number. Instead he shrugged and looked back at Riley, “Whatever, do your worse Matthews.”

Riley and Zay had become closer friends over the last few years, with the exception of her guilt over what had happened to him Cassie, she knew he had gotten a lot better since. “Okay, is there someone you have a crush on but haven’t had the chance to tell them?”

It wasn’t the worse she could have done, she knew that, but judging from the look on his face she knew she had gone into territory that he wasn’t sure about just yet. She wanted to take it back, to say she changed her mind but it was too late, and this was only because she had wanted to know if he was finally moving on from what had happened. It didn’t have to be love, she just wanted him to try.

“Um... well... it’s complicated,” he said to her. “I mean there is someone, but I’m trying to sort out those feelings because it’s different than before.”

She couldn’t stop the smile on her face as she walked over to him and gave him a hug, “I’m glad that you’re trying,” she said to him and she knew that he knew that it was worth everything.

“Yeah well, I figured that I needed to move on, and you’ve helped me, you and Lucas, so I wanted to find my footing and, in the end, I found someone I liked, but for now I just want to go slow, and maybe figure out if they like me before moving forward.”

“That’s good to hear man,” Lucas said joining their little group hug. Riley knew that no one really understood the extent of what Zay had gone through a few months before, it had just been Riley, Lucas, and him. Maybe one day he’ll tell everyone but until then Riley was happy that he was trying to find his way again.

When they separated the rest of the group looked at Zay, no one asked questions, so Maya decided to move the game along, which meant that it was Zay’s turn to ask a question. He turned to Maya and smiled at the blonde.

“Alright Maya, truth or dare,” he asked, Maya smiled before rolling her die, it landed on a nine so it couldn’t be that bad.

“Alright truth,” she said thinking that Zay couldn’t do a lot of damage.

“How far have you two gone, since you’re both more comfortable with one another to know each other’s hobbies and quirks,” he asked, and Riley knew the answer to the question, it really wasn’t a big question, because even she could tell that Josh and Maya’s body language since Maya’s birthday had changed a lot more.

They were softer with one another, which doesn’t sound too surprising but when Riley saw them it felt like they had learned more about one another, that they had a hidden way of talking, and it was sweet, even if she didn’t want to know about their sex lives, because it felt like walking in on you family in a compromising position. Which meant that Zay noticed these changes as well.

“Well,” Maya started before looking at Josh who just nodded and blushed a little. “We hit a home run,” she said giving the guys a baseball analogy instead of the hard truth like she normally would have.

“And that’s the end of that conversation,” Riley said stopping the talk from going further. “They deserve their privacy.”

“Yes, we do,” Josh said as a way of ending the talk. “You have your answer and that’s all you need.”

“Well since I don’t want to die, we can move on,” Zay said leaning onto the wall behind him. “Maya’s next,” he pointed out, as the blonde tried to regain her composure.

“Okay,” she said her face flushed, it was weird for Riley to see Maya so flustered over something, but it was nice to know that her best friend was like any other girl. “Sam,” Maya turned her attention to the only other girl in the room, the one she didn’t know very well. “Truth or Dare.”

Sam rolled her die, her eyes going wide when it landed on the twenty. “Truth,” she answered, Riley knew she feared a dare more than anything with a number that high.

“Okay, what’s the one secret you’ve kept from everyone all of your life,” Maya asked and Riley was afraid that it was going to cost her the friendship with the other girl.

Instead Sam smile at the group, “It would be nice for my friends to know, because while I was in school, I didn’t really feel like I had real friends, at least not until now anyway,” Sam took a deep breath before looking around at everyone. “My parents don’t know this, and my mother will probably be disappointed because of it, but I’m.... well.... um....” she was stuttering through her answer, and Riley feared that this was pushing her too far. “I’m gay,” Sam said with a smile. “I’m not out to anyone really, because I don’t want to disappoint my family, but I’ve never had any kind of attraction to a guy, but I’ve always checked out girls, but I want to have a traditional Indian wedding, but with a girl and it’s just hard because of the stigmas with being gay and all, but it feels nice to have friends who know now.”

Riley had noticed that the group had gotten quiet, the two geniuses had joined them just as Sam finished confessing her secret, and for some reason the other girl was looking around scared, as if she had lost everything. Instead Riley hugged her, and Maya and Zay hopped into it followed byt the rest of the group.

“I’m bi,” Charlie added even though it wasn’t his turn, “I just wanted you to know that you have allies here,” he said with a smile.

“I want to help you hook up with people,” Maya said, the group of them piled onto Riley’s bed. “There’s a girl on mine and Smackle’s floor who you might like too. She’s in one of my art classes, she broke up with her girlfriend last year, and asked me out once, but I told her I had Josh, so if you want some help hooking up with someone, I can do that.”

“I know who that is, she’s a very nice person,” Smackle added, and Riley felt like they were truly embracing Sam into the group. “I also have a cousin who is looking for a girlfriend as well, she’s not a genius, but she’s studying to be in the political world, so you might like her too.”

It was strange that all it took was a game of truth or dare for them all to reveal things about themselves, but it meant that they were getting closer and that was the best thing Riley could have asked for.

“No more truth or dare,” Maya declared, “Let’s play twister instead, because this is getting too heavy too fast, and we need to process all of this.”

“It’s not really heavy talk Maya, it’s just the truth,” Josh said smiling at her. “Plus, it’s nice that everyone is comfortable revealing things like this.”

“I know it’s just that now I just want to play matchmaker with these three,” Maya said pointing at Zay, Charlie and Sam.

Riley had noticed a change in Zay’s body language the moment Charlie had told everyone that he was bi, and wondered if it meant that Zay was at a point where he was questioning himself as well. She hoped that he would speak with his therapist about it at their next session, because Riley would like it if Zay were able to find a deeper balance in his life.

Everyone climbed off the bed, as Josh and Maya set up Twister on the floor, Lucas settling in next to Riley, kissing her on her temple, “Eww mom and dad are at it again,” Zay said making everyone laugh, before Lucas launched a pillow at his head.

“In all seriousness though, it’s actually a good thing,” Farkle said looking at them. “You two have helped us for so long, you protect us and make sure we’re happy, it’s really is like you were the mom and dad of the group.”

“Yeah but it’s weird, especially with the way my dad is,” Riley said blushing, “But it’s nice, because it means that maybe one day you will all grow and becoming the people, I know you can be,” she said as if she were channeling her father and Mr. Feeny, because they’ve taught her over the years, they’ve given her so many life lessons over the years, it’s only natural that she’d do the same as she grew up.

“Riley you could be a great teacher in the future if you wanted to be,” Josh said to her, “I know you want to work as a writer, but who says you can’t do both.”

“Maybe one day, for now I just want to grow up and finish school, find my place in the world, have some fun, and maybe travel when I get the chance,” Everyone smiled at her and she knew it was the best decision she could make. “Who knows though maybe Maya will be the teach in the group... and Maya I know you would deny it but I think it would be good for you, you could teach art to kids just like Ms. Kossal did for you.”

“Yeah... nooo,” she said looking around at the group. “Really?”

“Who knows, you still have time to figure it out,” she said smiling, Riley could imagine Josh and Maya running around teaching kids, they would be great teachers one day.


	16. Episode Sixteen – Girl Meets Self-Defense

Riley was sitting next to Maya as her best friend sketched out a picture of her baby brother, she had wanted to use it for a painting for her parents for their anniversary, but Maya was a perfectionist when it came to her art. It was something that Riley had found hilarious at times because watching Maya disregard the world while she drew had become an adventure for the whole campus. It was right after their class, and they were waiting for Smackle and Sam to show up because it was their weekly girls’ lunch date. It had started at the beginning of the semester, as a way for them to have at least an hour to catch up while also talking about their love lives.

Every once and a while Riley would refill Maya’s drink as they waited, not talking, so that Maya could finish before everyone arrived. Sam was the first to get there a huge smile on her face, followed by Smackle who was engrossed in a book.

“Okay,” Riley said once they were all together. “Time to put the work down, that’s what we agreed on when we decided to do this.”

“Fine,” Smackle grumbled, before her stomach made a noise, making the genius blush.

“Don’t worry I finished,” Maya said smiling down at the picture of her brother. “I hope my parents love this because it’s hard enough getting the kid to stop squirming so that I could get one reference shot.”

“They’ll love it Maya,” Riley said smiling at her best friend knowing it was the truth.

“Oh, let me see,” Sam said bouncing in her chair, Maya and Sam had gotten closer over the last few months, especially with their upcoming student film in the works. Which Riley opted out of seeing after they showed her one clip that made her run out of the room and towards Lucas’s dorm because she was sure that she would never sleep again.

“Aww he’s so cute, I could just bite his cheeks right off,” Riley said when Maya flipped the picture over. Sam cooing at the image, even though she’s met the little boy.

“That’s not possible, unless you’re a cannibal,” Smackle said to them in the only way she could, and it made Riley laugh. “He is cute in the average way that all children are at that age.”

“Well, there you go kid you have the Smackle seal of approval,” Maya said looking down at the drawing.

“He’s going to be a heartbreaker that one,” Sam said smiling at the image.

“God, I hope not, because from the stories my dad has told me, Uncle Shawn went through so many girls growing up,” Riley said thinking about everything she had heard over the years. “And broke a few hearts along the way including Farkle’s mom’s which is weird enough as it is.”

They all laughed at it, because while it was weird it was still a part of their families past that made up their future. As they sat there Riley watched as her friends talked, caught up and generally made plans for other things. It felt like they were all finally finding their footing after everything that had kept them apart their first semester.

“So, I heard something,” Sam said to them as they finished their lunch. “Apparently there’s been a series of ‘hook-ups’ around campus,” she used air quotes around attacks which meant that there was a possibility that they weren’t hook-ups at all.

“I heard about them too, and I talked to a girl who knows one of the girls that it had happened to,” Maya said her voice hushed because it wasn’t her story to tell. “She told me to be careful at the parties thrown by the fraternities, because someone is drugging girls without them knowing. The houses involved don’t want to stop the parties until the person is found, but I don’t think we should be going to any parties anytime soon.”

“Why do people do things like that?” Smackle asked, because while she studied everything that she could, there were still things that she didn’t know or understand. Social constructs were one of them, and she was always asking them to explain things so that she would understand better. “I know that there are certain chemicals in the brain, or how a person is raised by their family, but why would someone go after people without permission?”

“It’s just one of the things that girls have to worry about Smackle,” Maya said and Riley couldn’t help but feel sorry for the state of the world, when girls weren’t allowed to freely be themselves because there was always someone out there who wanted to do something to them.

“It’s not just girls Smackle, it happens to guys too, no one is safe from a predator,” Riley said knowing that after a million talks about the subject with her mother, she knew that there were too many things that could happen while she was there. Too many reasons for someone to go after her or anyone she knew, and she was afraid but she wasn’t going to let it rule her heart.

“So how are we going to deal with it?” Sam asked and Riley knew that she was concerned because while no one knew who was doing it, they were all possible victims.

“The buddy system,” Riley answered knowing that it was the best way to deal with this kind of problem, because being with someone lessened the risk of someone going after them. “Maya and Smackle live together, so if they have to be out at night, they need to stick close to one another, the same for us Sam, since we have the radio program, or if someone wants to go to a party only take drinks that haven’t been opened, and if you see something you call the police.”

“You really thought this out, didn’t you?” Maya said looking at her.

“My mom talked to me a few times over the summer, there had been an incident when she had been in school, so she wanted me to be prepared if something started happening when I started here,” she said thinking of her mom who had something happen to her during freshman year at college, and had told Riley about it because she wanted her daughter to be protected.

“What kind of person would go after your mother, the woman scares anyone who would dare go against her,” Smackle said and they all knew it was the truth, there was no going against her in any form.

“From what I know it was a new professor, who got a little too involved with his students, my dad got suspended from school for a day because of it until they realized what had happened,” she told them, it was a story that her mother had made sure that she knew because she had wanted Riley to be vigilant about what could happen. She remembered that conversation, it was one that she really would never forget.

\----

“Riley,” her mother called out from the hallway before walking into her room. “Can we talk?”

“Yeah mom,” Riley said automatically walking over to the bay window, the worried look on her mother’s face meant that this was the kind of conversation that they should have at the window.

“Riley, I know you’re going off to college soon, and I think we should have this conversation before you go,” she said her voice serious.

“Mom we had the sex talk already, we don’t need to have it again.”

“No this is something a little more serious, something that I think you should know about because it’s something that’s common on college campuses, even when I was going to school.”

Riley could feel the change of tone in her mother’s words, where it bordered between the lawyer, she knew her mother was and the worried parent that rarely came out because her father worried enough for the both of them. There was a story here and Riley wasn’t sure if she would be alright after hearing it, but it was important for her mother to tell her which meant that it was something that should also be important to Riley no matter what.

“When I was a student in college, a professor tried to well get my attention in a way, that I didn’t want,” her mother took a deep breath. “I sometimes wondered what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten away from him in time, or even how your father’s anger would have gotten him in more trouble if people hadn’t believed us.”

“What did daddy do? It can’t be that bad, he’s a marshmallow,” Riley said because she had never seen any other version of her father outside of the overprotective one, she had grown up with.

“He threw him through a glass door, and I was scared not only for what had happened to me, but also what could have happened to him,” her mother took a deep breath. “Your father, he’s deeply protective, not just of you but also of his whole family, and while he chases Lucas around, I think he just wants to make sure that no one oversteps when it comes to you. He trusts Lucas, I know he does, he may not show it a lot because he’s still fixated on that little girl he had raised, but he does trust him.”

“Mom, I’m sorry you had to go through something like that,” she said taking her mother’s hand and putting her head on her shoulder.

“Now for the real talk,” her mother said to her, before giving her a sad smile. “I honestly wish I didn’t have to give you this talk but there’s enough of it on the news... and well I worry about you because you’re so trusting, but if you hear about something happening, even if it’s a rumor, I want you to stick close to your friends, make sure Lucas is there with you, and if you ever find yourself alone at night take out your phone in one hand with 911 already dialed, and your keys in the other.”

“Why my keys?”

“If you put them between your fingers they can be used as a weapon incase anything happens. I know some places ban things like pepper spray so I want you be prepared for the worse.”

“Okay so phone and keys in hand, but what happens if I drop them, or if they gain the upper hand?”

“You fight Riley, never let anyone take anything from you that you didn’t consent to, and if heaven forbid that something did happen, go to the police right afterwards, and then call me because I will fight heaven and hell to make sure that they burn for what they did. Because I will protect the ones, I love the most, and make sure that you can all protect yourselves.”

\-----

Riley had found out that day that her mother was fiercely protective, not only of her, but also of her friends. _Protect the ones you love, and protect yourself_ , were words that she would always hold dearly, because her friends were like family and she didn’t want anything to happen to them. So, she sat there and told them everything that her mother had said, about self-defense about the buddy system, everything because she wanted them to be able to protect themselves if anything happened.

When they separated right after Riley sent a message to Lucas, because if there was one person, she needed to talk to about this it was him. She had heard about her father’s reaction, and automatically knew that Lucas would have the same, if not worse reaction, if anything happened to her. She just wanted to make sure that he didn’t do anything too rash if there was someone attacking people or hurting people he cared about. Lucas was standing outside of her dorm room the minute she got there, a soft smile on his face, he was just being the same guy that she’s known for years, easy going and kind.

“Hey, I um… heard about something and I want to talk to you about it,” she said having the need to rip off the band-aid as fast as she could.

“Um… well sure,” he said as she opened the door and let him into her room.

“I heard something from the girls as we had lunch, about… well about attacks on campus, during parties and such, and well I want you to give me your word, that if anything happened to me… that you wouldn’t go all Texas Lucas.”

“Riley if anything happened to you… and I couldn’t stop it… Riles that would hurt me more than you know,” he said a sadness in his eyes and she knew that she was asking a lot of him, but she wanted him to have his dreams come true.

“If it makes you feel better I’ll take self-defense classes, I’ll start a drive for girls to be better protected, I’ll even talk about it on the show with Sam, Zay, and Charlie, but under no circumstances do I want you to do anything rash and stupid… please Lucas,” she couldn’t help how her voice broke in the end, she didn’t want him to lose himself to his own anger, not after everything he’s done to be a better person. Lucas knew that it was hurting her as much as it would hurt him, so when he pulled her into his arms Riley understood that he was trying his best.

They didn’t say anything for a few minutes as he held her, but when he pulled away she could see the war he was having just from looking at his eyes. She reached out and touched his face, giving him a small smile and kissing him on the lips.

“I’ll try my best,” he said once they separated, his head resting against hers.

After that they talked, like they had promised all of those years ago, she told him about what had happened to her parents, she told him everything little detail, even the things that she hadn’t told Maya, Smackle, and Sam at lunch. So of course, like her mother, Lucas set up a plan for her, even if she didn’t have the chance to take self-defense classes, he would teach her. He wanted to be sure that she would be safe no matter what, even if he couldn’t be nearby.

\------

In the weeks since their conversation, Riley had set up a small network through her radio show, small gatherings for girls to understand their options, for some of the guys to know what was happening. She made sure to include anyone who hadn’t felt safe on campus, because organizing things was what she did best. It worked over the years, and she wasn’t going to stop now. Lucas had some guys work with their girlfriends on self-defense techniques, Maya made posters for each event, Smackle and Farkle had created little safety alarms that would sound off if the person pressed a button on their phone that signaled an S.O.S. They all worked on it in some way or another, because they all wanted to be safe.

When no other incident had been reported after a few weeks, it felt like all of them could breathe easily for once, they mostly stuck to the buddy system, and if they were alone they did what Riley had told them to do. They had all become comfortable with everything, so in the end they had let their guard down enough to go on with their lives.

It wasn’t until a late night at the library, where Riley had felt like someone was watching her, as he hairs stood up almost warning her of what could happen. It was the one night where Lucas had a late class, and because it was still winter, night came a little too quickly for her. She did everything her mother had told her on the walk home, and when she had reached her dorm she had felt silly for even thinking that something could go wrong. She walked up the stairs to her floor, letting her keys dangle, and putting her phone away, because she felt stupid for having it out in the first place.

Just as she reached her door someone grabbed her and pulled her towards a dark corner on the floor, they were just at the stairs again, when she began to fight, scratching at the person who was holding onto her. Her voice muffled by their hand, she could feel them breathing against her neck and it made her want to cry. The person tightened their grip on her and kept pulling her away from the safety of her room, and when they were alone, they forced her to face them.

Riley found herself face to face with one of the dorm advisors, he wasn’t the one for her floor, so she didn’t really know who they were, but she knew that they were angry judging by the look on his face. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, she wasn’t sure if she would have been prepared for this in the end.

“You should have minded your own business,” he said, and she knew that she was in trouble, she had blanked out for a moment, before on instinct she kneed him in the balls before taking a swing at his face. She hit him as hard as she could putting all of her body weight into it, even though she didn’t have a lot of muscle she knew that she could hit. Lucas had once told her that she had a mean right hook, he had known this first hand because she had used it on him when they had been in Texas.

Once he was down she ran out the door, down the floor until all of the adrenaline that was coursing through her body had run out just as she slammed into a very familiar chest and started crying. Lucas held onto her and she knew that he didn’t know what had happened, but there was something in his eyes the minute he saw her face and she knew that he knew. He pulled her into her room and closed the door before dialing 911, as she shook on her bed.

“Someone attacked her, she has a cut on her head and she’s in shock,” was all she heard before she heard the pounding on her door, making her jump.

Lucas looked to the door, the operator still on the other line, but the muffled sound of a very angry person on the other side made it known that the person had followed her back. She knew that they knew where she lived, he was one of the advisors for the dorm so of course he knew. The moment the sirens went off near her window the banging stopped, and she heard someone running from her door before the police showed up.

Riley could feel her hands still shaking, she didn’t want to be scared, but she was, and it was a terrible feeling. Lucas held onto her while the police took her statement, before they were taken to the hospital so that Riley could be examined. It was there that her mother had found her, her mother who had gone through something similar, her mother who she had always thought was the strongest person in the world. It was there that she fell apart in her mother’s arms as Lucas and her dad stood in the doorway. She had never felt so scared for her own life, because she had been so close to being attacked and no one would have known until it was too late.


	17. Episode Seventeen – Girl Meets Us Against the World

Riley was in the hospital for the night as they checked her out, it had taken her a while to calm down after her parents had arrived. Lucas always standing nearby, which was a comfort all on its own for her because it meant that he wasn’t trying to find the guy who had attacked her. Her hand bandaged because the punch had caused her to break two fingers on the guy’s jaw, her wrists hurt, and her head was throbbing. There was too much going on, too much pain, too much thinking, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do.

It wasn’t until she was sitting in her room, Lucas next to her when she noticed the bruises on her wrists, they were faint, but she knew that they would only get worse as the day went on. The police had taken her statement, they had taken Lucas’s statement since he had been the one to call 911. They talked to her parents, all before leaving saying that they would continue to look into the matter.

Her parents were nearby, she could hear her mother talking on the phone, the small breeze every time her father paced the room. But all Riley could see were the bruises on her wrists, the feel of his hands on her as he pushed her into the stairwell. Even though she had fought back, it still felt like a violation, the marks were on her body as a reminder. She survived this, like everything else that had come her way, but it frightened her that it had happened because she had talked to people about keeping safe. The fact that she naturally wanted to help people stay safe, had caused her to become a victim and it hadn’t felt right to her. This wasn’t supposed to happen just because she was trying to keep others from becoming victims.

Lucas didn’t touch her which only made her feel like she had been tainted in some way, even though she was sure that he was just giving her time to get through it. But for some reason her mind was telling her other things, she was overthinking everything, she didn’t feel like herself, it felt like she wasn’t even in her own body. She was crying again just because she felt cold and there was nothing, she could do about it, even though she had a blanket around her, she shivered. It was shock, she knew that, but it felt wrong, she just wanted to be the happy person she always had been, she wondered how long it would take to get back to that place.

It wasn’t until the heaving came where she jumped up and ran out the door towards the bathroom, throwing up everything that she had eaten in the last day into the toilet, where she felt like all she could do was fall apart. She jumped when she heard the bathroom door open, even though she was dry heaving into the toilet.

“Riley,” Lucas said to her, and she knew he would get in trouble for being in the girl’s bathroom, but just having him close was find with her, if that was all she could get. “If it’s okay with you I’m going to touch you.”

When she nodded, she felt his hand move her hair from her face, as he rubbed slow circles on her back. She leaned into his warmth for a minute, as the feeling of throwing up slowly stopped, when she sat back, she grabbed onto his shirt and held on to him. The one comfort she had at the moment, and she knew that when her friends found out they would be running towards her too. But all she wanted was for Lucas to be there next to her, holding onto her, to feel safe instead of feeling like someone had just taken everything from her and left her hollow.

A wash cloth was slowly rubbed on her face as she closed her eyes, she could smell her mother’s perfume, which meant that she was nearby. She hadn’t realized just how tired she was until she fell asleep there in Lucas’s arms as her mother cleaned her face.

Lucas was furious, he was holding back his anger because every time he looked at Riley and saw that empty look in her eyes, he couldn’t help but want to hold onto her, but he wasn’t sure if she would let him. When she had run off, he went after her because he couldn’t hold back anymore, he wanted to protect her more than anything. Even though he knew that she could protect herself, but he didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know how to handle the situation without finding the guy and beating him within an inch of his life.

He carried her to her bed and laid her down, but when he went to pull away, she had grabbed onto his hand. She was seeking comfort, and he knew it, but he was afraid that him being so close would trigger something.

“Don’t leave,” she said in her sleep addled state.

“I’ll only leave if you tell me to,” he told her getting as close as he could with her parents there, sitting on the bed while she put her head on his lap, never letting go of his hand. Watching as her father paced the room again once she had settled down.

Her mother had left the room to make another phone call, she had been on the phone from the moment they had gotten back from the hospital. Lucas slowly traced the slowly forming bruises on Riley’s wrist, trying to make her feel his hands and not the memory of what had happened to her before she had run into him. He wasn’t sure about everything that had happened, only hearing pieces of conversations between Riley and the police, or the conversation she had had with her mother in the hospital after she had broken down.

He was angry, but he also knew that Riley wanted him to stay calm, she needed him to be there for her in the same way she was always there for him. No Texas Lucas, just Lucas. So, he sat there and held onto her hand, running his other hand through her hair as he listened to her breathing as it slowed until he was sure that she was finally asleep. Mrs. Matthews walked in through the door, looking at them with a grim look on her face, he knew that the lawyer in her would do anything to protect her daughter, from how she looked he also knew that a storm was brewing.

“He’s saying that Riley had been the one to attack him,” she said to Lucas and Riley’s father. Lucas saw red, he wanted to find the guy and make him pay, but Riley’s hand in his kept him grounded as he breathed through the anger coursing through him. “He showed up at the police station and filed a report, the school is getting involved in this too, because of who his parents are because they have influence here, which means we’re in for a fight.”

“But Topanga, she has bruises on her wrists, she has one on her head and her fingers are broken from fighting back, what else would they need to know that he’s done something wrong?” her father questioned, looking at his wife with a sad look on his face. “I know this could have happened anywhere else she could have gone, but it still hurts to think that it happened here.”

“Yes, I know that Cory, but right now I have to make sure that this is something that we can handle without it blowing back on her,” Lucas heard her say. “We need other people to come forward, we need people who are willing to stand at her side, because I need as many people who have been in the same situation with him as the perpetrator before I can take this in front of a judge, and even then, he could use the time to smear her name. This isn’t something that’s going to be quiet.”

“Is this school so worried about their donors, that they would overlook something like this happening to their students?”

“No, because the current law protects Riley, but anything beyond that might be a fight that we have to be ready for or else it’s going to have a huge blowback.”

The room was quiet after that, everyone not saying anything, Lucas just listening to Riley breathe, while she held onto him. He needed to be strong because he needed to keep her safe, sometimes he wishes that he could go back to that debate class from freshman year of high school and hold onto that innocent part of Riley. Just for a little while, but he knew she still existed under the strong woman she had become. In the end he was sure that she would take this moment and fight with everything inside of her, and he would be right there standing next to her, because he was going to be stronger for her. He wasn’t going to fight others, all he was going to do was help her fight for herself and be there when she needed him.

Riley hadn’t been sleeping when her parents were talking, she had just wanted to feel Lucas next to her, the comfort was enough, almost like he was recharging her and that she would get up and use that energy to fight everyone who tried to make her seem like this was all just some random act and nothing more.

She didn’t move at all until the door to her room swung open and hit the wall, making her jump up, remembering the banging sound on the door as Lucas called 911. Her heart was racing and she didn’t know if she could do anything other than cling to Lucas’s arm, as her friends all walked in, smiling at one another. It was then that she realized that no one had called them to tell them what had happened, and she was pretty sure that her parents and Lucas thought the same thing.

“My brother,” Josh said with a smile that died the moment his eyes landed on Riley who was curled up against Lucas trying to find a way to make herself smaller.

The rest of them turned to see what he was looking at, and the room descended into chaos, as everyone asked what had happened. Somehow the room full of people made her a little shy all of a sudden, even though they were all friends and family. Lucas took her hand and slowly rubbed small circles on her palm, slowly calming her down. Riley’s parents closed the door and made everyone sit, but none of them sat next to Riley or Lucas, the bed was theirs and theirs alone at that moment, almost as if anyone getting closer would trigger something for Riley.

“Can someone tell us what happened?” Maya asked, a worried look on her face, Josh put his arm around her as she looked to everyone in the room. “I mean everything was fine yesterday when I left you at the library.”

“Maya,” her mother said sighing as if she knew that this would be one of the hardest conversations she would have with someone that wasn’t a client, or like the conversation she had had with Riley before they had sent her off to college. “We have to explain this to you all, but none of you are allowed to react too loudly, Riley’s still a little frayed because of it.”

Sam looked over at her, as realization dawned on her face, “Oh my god, the rumors about the attacks,” she whispered out loud.

Smackle and Maya were the first to react, both looking between Sam and Riley, slowly remembering that conversation so long ago. The weeks Riley spent talking to other girls about safety and protection against something happening.

“But nothing had happened in weeks,” Smackle said her voice calm, but there was something there, a pain that Riley could hear.

“Riles,” Maya said her voice soft, “Honey, please tell me you’re okay.”

Riley knew that Maya was scared, they had all been safe, they had all made sure that nothing would happen, because college was supposed to be an experience for them all. It hurt for Riley to see the sadness in all of their faces, the guys unsure of what to say, the girls all knowing that it had been a possibility with all of the rumors that had been going around campus about the possibility of someone going after girls.

“Nothing happened,” Riley said, her voice low as if she were afraid that if she talked any louder than her attacker would come back. Lucas squeezed her hand, reassuring her, even though she still felt scared about what had happened.

Her mother spent the next ten minutes telling everyone in the room about what had happened, sending Riley and Lucas out of the room. Riley had grabbed her toothbrush and her hairbrush and went to the bathroom while Lucas stood by the door and talked about stupid things just to keep her company. She knew that she would have to keep reliving what had happened but for just a small moment she just wanted peace and quiet.

\-----

It would take two weeks before Riley felt safe enough to go to her classes without having Lucas right next to her, helping her. She was alright with being with someone at all times, but she knew that they all had their lives and needed to keep going. In those two weeks, her attacker had started a smear campaign against her, one that her mother had drafted out a defamation law suit against.

“No one messes with my kid,” her mother had said to her when they had had lunch on Friday. Which had now become something she looked forward to each week, because it meant getting to know her mother through a different lens.

It reminded her of that time in high school were that girl didn’t like her, and how angry her mother had gotten over it. It was strange, because they had had their ups and downs as mother and daughter over the years, but this had brought them closer together.

Riley had been sitting in the library waiting for Lucas to come pick her up when someone approached her. For a minute every instinct in her wanted to stand up and hide somewhere, but she stood her ground and found herself face to face with two girls who she had only ever spoken to once during the Fall semester.

“Hi,” she said trying to sound cheerful, but failing, it was hard getting back to her old self, but she was trying to find a middle ground.

“Hi, you’re Riley right?” the red headed girl said, and when Riley nodded the girl pushed her friend forward and made her sit. “We need to talk.”

They talked for half an hour, Riley finding out that the shy one, had once been a vibrant junior at the school, until one day she had gone to a party, and had woken up behind a dumpster, with bruises on her body and the feeling of something wet between her legs. And even though she had reported it to the school, and to the police nothing came out of it because she couldn’t remember what had happened. Her only memory was the same guy that had attacked Riley being really sweet to her one minute and then nothing the next.

“We’re not the only ones,” she said tears in her eyes. “No one will listen to us because his family is powerful, and they donate millions to the school.”

Riley felt something stir inside of her, hearing what she was saying, she remembered being that girl in high school and middle school, fighting for the girls to be noticed as something other than eye candy for the boys, for girls to show they had an interest in STEM subjects. For girls to be allowed to be at the same level as boys. No one had the right to reduce them to this, and she felt that urge to fight grow within. She asked them to gather everyone they knew had been attacked by this person, never calling him by his name because why should he have agency over them and bringing them to her room. Calling her mother as she told them this, they set up a time, right before those big Friday night parties, so that they could meet and discuss this with her mother in the room.

Riley wanted to fight, and if it was just them against the whole world she would fight because that’s what her mother had taught her to do, that’s what she always tried to inspire in her friends, in her classmates, in the world. She wanted them to fight for their right to be heard, for the world to know what was happening, so that they were no longer stuck in the back hiding because someone was more powerful than they were.

Lucas picked her up just as they finished their talk, the girls shying away from him as he stood next to her. Lucas never touching Riley, until she reached out for him first, he had been giving her the option a lot, and while she missed the way they had been, she was grateful that he was a kind person who would consider her feelings before his own. Riley introduced him, telling them that he was a good person, he walked them all back to the dorms, dropping them off one by one, making sure that everyone was safe. He didn’t complain about it, because Riley knew that he was the kind of person who would do anything to help others. She had learned this from what had happened between him and Zay, from what had happened when she had been bullied, or when Farkle had been bullied. This was who he was, and she was proud of him for being able to get past his own issues to help people.

Once they were in her room she told him what she had talked to the girls about, and he had offered to help her in anyway, even if it meant staying out of the room while the whole conversation happened.

“Thank you, Lucas,” she said smiling at him, for once it had felt like the real her was slowly coming back out. “Thank you, for everything you’ve done, and not just these last few weeks but for everything that we’ve been through over the years, because you are one of the most special people in my life, and you’ve helped me become a stronger person.”

“Anything for you Riley, anything,” he said with a smile pulling her in for a hug. “Because you’ve made me a better person.”

They stood there for a moment, just being with one another, in this moment, because she knew that there was a real fight brewing. Not between them, but between Riley and the world hell bent on making her college experience a living hell.

\----

Riley’s mother had organized a team of lawyers, all female, to work on what they had planned out, every girl that had come had signed paperwork to protect their identities, they signed orders against the person who had gone after them, they wrote down everything that had happened and the ones who had reported it to the police or had gone to the hospital brought all the records with them.

Lucas stood watch in the hallway, because he knew that the person who had attacked Riley and had later accused her of assault, lived in her dorm, even though they had filed a motion to have him removed because she hadn’t felt safe with him around. The school had ignored the request, going against the law, which was there to protect Riley. To them the whole thing was a he said she said situation, and they had only advised mediation and nothing else. So, Lucas was always around, keeping an eye on things, making sure that Riley was protected.

The mounting evidence, and the fact that her mother was a top attorney, and a scary one at that, had finally caused not only the school but the police to look into the claims. The news stations had started to pick up on the story as more victims had come forward. They were all protected against being exposed, but Riley was still scared because she didn’t want this to force her into the public light. All the articles named the victims by letter, but Riley being the only one who hadn’t been drugged had been forced to reveal more than any of the others. She was ready to fight, she knew it was going to be hard, she had seen how the world treated victims, but she didn’t want anyone else to fall prey to this one person any longer.

Everything ended fast, mainly because her mother was really Godzilla like her father had called her, she was fierce and protective, but she was also the first to slam all the evidence and affidavits down on the police sergeants desk, and later the dean of the college’s desk. Telling them that if they didn’t do anything about it they would have their little corner of the world turned upside down the minute everything hit the national news circuit.

Her attacker was expelled a week later after the story hit the internet, with people criticizing how the school had handled the whole thing, going all the way back to when the first attack had been reported. Pictures of Riley’s injuries out there for the world to see, the only thing not visible was her face. She had written the article herself, under the same name she had written all the other articles she had done during her days on the writing magazine. She wrote about how hard it had been to fight against the person who had attacked her, and how it took a while before she could get the feeling of their hands out of her mind, she wrote paragraph after paragraph on the other victims, and how everyone had failed them. She wanted to know that if it was going to be them against the world, then the world was going to know their story.

This was when she finally started feeling normal again, because she knew that she had the power to change something, even if it took a long time to achieve it. Something she had learned from her mother, the fierce New York attorney.


	18. Episode Eighteen – Girl Meets Speed Dating

Riley had been the first to notice the change in Zay and Charlie’s relationship, it had happened during game night at the beginning of the spring semester. Though she didn’t say a word because she didn’t want to meddle in Zay’s life again, not after what had happened over the summer. So, she watched them, she made sure that if they were getting close than maybe she could help set up scenarios where they would be able to say something. She had gone through the whole thing with the building RA and in the end, she stopped thinking about meddling in her friends’ lives and instead heal herself. Which was already a long process, especially on days when she couldn’t sleep because the memory of what had happened was still fresh in her mind.

On those days, when she had been too tired to function but still went out with her friends to lunch, or to class, or even on a movie night with Lucas. Riley watched, and saw the pining glances of her two friends. They never did it when the other one was looking, because why would they make this any easier on Riley. She sighed every time she saw it happen and wondered when the two would get their heads out of their freaking… well you know.

Lucas was the second one to notice, mainly because he had always been near Riley after the incident and was hell bent on making sure nothing happened to her again. So, when he heard her sigh every time Charlie and Zay were in the room, he started to pay attention to what was happening. But he also knew that Riley had reservations about meddling in Zay’s life, so he just comforted her whenever she felt that familiar frustration arising because of the two pining idiots.

Maya had been the third to find out, and the first one to want to meddle after Charlie had talked about Zay doing one thing or another for over twenty minutes until Zay had gotten there and he shut up completely. Josh had noticed right after because Maya was about ten seconds away from strangling the two of them after she saw them mooning after one another and neither actually saying anything.

It didn’t take long for everyone else to figure it out, but it had been Riley who had suggested something that would make them talk to one another in a setting that would be easier for them to actually say that they were interested.

“Speed dating,” she said to the group, everyone but Zay, Charlie, and Sam was in the room. Sam had been in class, and Riley had been trying to find a way for her to get out and meet more girls. She hadn’t realized that her roommate, who laughed and talked loudly about her passions would be shy when it came to asking someone out.

“Why speed dating? Why can’t we just lock them in a closet?” Maya said frustrated by the whole thing already. “The pining is worse than these two were.”

“Hey, we weren’t that bad,” Lucas said in their defense. “And look who’s talking over here, didn’t you do the same thing with Josh?”

“Listen here you damn cowboy,” Maya started before Josh put his hand on her waist and she calmed down.

“Maya, be nice,” Josh said to her, mostly for the benefit of the room because once she went off there was no way to stop her at this point. Midterms had all but drained them, and they all still had another week before spring break, they were tired and irritable. Smackle even more so, because she wasn’t even paying attention to them, only mumbling things to herself every so often before Farkle would rub her head and she would remember that she was in a room full of people.

Riley couldn’t help but smile at all of her friends, because everyone was happy in their own way, even when they were all too tired to deal with the pining of the missing members of their family. Riley just wanted something happy to focus on, because she had been through enough and it was barely three months into the year. So, plotting for a way for their friends to admit their feelings to one another was the best form of therapy.

“Anyway, speed dating, the LGBTQ alliance on campus is doing it as a part of a mixer,” Riley said smiling at everyone. “Just as a way for everyone to get to know one another, and since Charlie and Zay won’t say anything, and since I owe them big time for doing something for me last semester, I signed them up, even signed up Sam because she needs to find a way to get over that shy side of her.”

“I don’t remember her being very shy at Einstein,” Smackle said for the first time since they had started talking. “She was a very outspoken opponent much of the time.”

“Plus, I doubt that anyone would have any problems talking to someone they liked without doing something weird, like I don’t know, flirt with everyone but their crush,” Maya said looking pointedly at Smackle.

“Hey, no one said I was perfect,” Smackle answered back.

“You are to me beloved,” Farkle said which for some reason instantly calmed down Smackle.

“You two are cute,” Riley said to the genius couple. “Just remember when you decide to take over the world, leave me a place where I won’t be trapped by whatever you’re doing.”

“You got it Riley,” Farkle answered with a smile. “By the way, how did you know about the speed dating thing?”

“Oh, well you know, I have a couple of friends in the club, and a few of them had been… um… well… some of them had been victims of what had happened,” she felt shy saying it, because it shouldn’t be her place to say so, but they had been really nice girls and they had all agreed that they wanted something close to normal. So, they had started a support group and had all become close enough to share club events or walk each other home.

“Sorry for bringing it up Riley,” Farkle said automatically but Riley shook her head.

“It’s not a problem Farkle, we all decided that it would be alright to talk about it, because while life has become somewhat normal for all of us, we know that in the end something happened, and erasing it would only cause more damage.”

“Plus,” Lucas said looking at her with a proud look. “She’s been working with them to volunteer in several organizations, they’ve been helping with the overhaul of the Greek system on campus, and they’ve developed ways for girls and guys to feel more secure on campus.”

“You’re doing a lot of good you know,” Smackle said, and Riley knew that her friends were all proud of her, but she didn’t want it to dominate her life, so she did everything she could, while also finding a balance so that her old life wouldn’t be affected by it all.

\-------

It was the Thursday before Spring Break, when Riley had pulled Zay, Charlie, and Sam into the mixer, as the head of the alliance announced the Speed Dating even. Riley smiled at the three of them before pushing them into the club room where the whole thing was taking place.

“Have fun,” she said before walking away towards where Lucas was waiting.

“So, how do you think this is going to go?” he asked, and she smile.

“Who knows,” she shrugged, “As long as they admit their feelings and stop with the moony stares, then we’ll all be better for it.”

“Let’s go,” he said taking her hand and walking towards the doors. “I hope so too, because as much as I love Zay, I don’t think I can take another hour of the sighing.”

Riley laughed as they left, Lucas taking her out to dinner at the dining hall in hopes that their friends would be a little happier at the end of the night.

\-------

Zay was staring at the room, Riley and Lucas had literally just threw him in there and walked away without a word, and now they were saying something about speed dating and he wasn’t sure what to think about it. What were his friends thinking anyway?

Then it hit him, they noticed, they noticed him looking at Charlie every once and a while, they noticed the silly little things he did just to make Charlie smile. He thought that he hadn’t been very obvious about the whole thing, he thought that after what had happened the year before that he should keep a distance from relationships. So of course, when he falls for someone, they all notice and start meddling. He found himself smiling, because they were leaving this up to him, they weren’t really meddling, they were giving him the option.

“Alright everyone, the point of this is for you to talk to someone, or a few people, get to know each other, it doesn’t matter if you hit it off, all that matters is that you make connections with one another, because the basis of any good relationship is friendship and communication, so go ahead and mingle,” one of the organizers said before stepping away from the mic.

Zay noticed that Sam was blushing on the other side of the room, talking to some red head girl, and he couldn’t help but feel proud of her. He knew how hard it had been for her to come out, but also how hard of a time she’s been having trying to connect with anyone. She had confided in him and Riley about her fears, about one day coming out to her family and finding herself alone because of it. Riley told her that her friends would support her no matter what happened, but to at least give her family the benefit of the doubt.

Somehow a part of this extended to Zay, even when he felt a twinge of jealousy as he saw Charlie mingling across the room with several people. It was alright, they weren’t together, but he wanted to try again, even though he was afraid of everything that had happened. And Charlie, had not only helped him over the last few months, but they had really connected, and when Zay had thought that he hadn’t had a chance to be with him, Charlie had surprised him by coming out.

“Hey,” Charlie smiled as Zay walked over. “I thought you had gone with Riley and Lucas.”

“No… I… um…” he wondered why this was hard to say, but he also knew that he never really had any luck with telling people his feelings, but he knew he had to take a chance on this moment. “Can we talk?”

“Uh, sure,” Charlie said before waving at the other people and walking with Zay to one of the tables. Zay stood there for a moment before sitting down, and then getting back up again. He was nervous, and he knew it. He paced the length of the table twice before finally sitting back down.

“I like you,” he blurted out without saying anything else, his heart beating like crazy, and he could swear that his head was screaming at him to say something else, but he didn’t know how to start again.

“Zay, what are you saying here?” Charlie asked while Zay was trapped in his own head trying to figure out if he could say anything else without running out of the room.

“Well… um… I… um…” he couldn’t say anything, he was sure that Charlie would walk away just because he couldn’t get the words out.

Instead Charlie surprised him and leaned forward, kissing him on the lips in a room full of people, that neither of them really knew, but it still felt like the perfect moment. He suddenly remembered Lucas talking about having his moment with Riley, and how it would come when it did because they would both be ready for it. So, Zay did the only thing he could think of and took Charlie’s hand in his leaning into the kiss even more. When they pulled away Charlie was blushing, but he had a huge smile on their faces.

“Yeah,” Charlie said as if he were answering something.

“Yeah,” Zay answered back.

“Oh good you both got your heads out of your asses,” Sam said pulling them both out of the strange trance they had been in.

“What do you mean?” Zay said finally shocked back into the mixer.

“Well, Maya the other day was complaining that she was sick and tired of you two doing, well that whole does he like me thing, and she said that if you didn’t figure something out that she would lock you both in a closet because she couldn’t take the pining, I’m guessing Riley was the one who had suggest this instead.”

“Oh,” Charlie said as if he were realizing something. “You’ve liked me all along?”

“Uh, well yeah, but we’ve both been jaded by our exes, so I didn’t want to jinx our friendship and thought that I would be alright just being friends with you,” Zay answered, which for some reason had made Charlie laugh. “What’s so funny?”

“We hang out with those two way too much, we’ve picked up their bad habit of mooning over the other without saying anything,” he said smiling. “Remember middle school?”

“Oh, you missed the whole thing during freshman year, I thought I was going to have to kill Lucas with a bag of jelly beans.”

“Well now that this is over,” Sam said smiling at the both of them. “Maybe you can help me out, with… um… flirting, because I’m awful at it, and I literally just told a girl about how love is a scientific anomaly, because I was nervous, and it was awful, and help please.”

Zay had suddenly realized that Riley had planned this all along, not just for them to talk about their feelings, but for them to find a safe space to express who they really were. He saw that in all of the people in the room, and he needed to thank his friends for it, because for all of them, they needed that place, where they could just be who they wanted to be without judgment. Without it Charlie wouldn’t have kissed him, and Sam wouldn’t have asked for help from them, they all needed to know that they were safe, especially after everything Riley had been through.

“Hey,” the coordinator said to them. “Riley said to give this to you when it looked like you figured out what you needed to figure out.”

“Um, thanks,” Sam said smiling shyly at the other girl, who surprisingly smiled back, blushing at Sam.

Zay smiled at them before introducing them, “This is Sam, she’s pre-med and slightly awkward.”

“Hi, I’m Lila, I’m not pre-med, I’m polisci, I want to be a lawyer,” she said smiling at Sam.

Zay quietly left them to talk, grabbing Charlie’s hand as he walked them out the door before opening the card Riley had left for them.

 _Have fun, and be happy_ , was all it said, and he knew that she was giving them her blessing like a mom would. She really was the mom of their group and he was thankful for her every day, because if it hadn’t been for Riley he wouldn’t have made it this far.

“Let’s go have dinner,” Charlie said smiling at him, before pointing at the small sandwich shop that was in the student union.

“Sure,” he said before taking Charlie’s hand and walking them over there. “To a new beginning,” because that’s what this was for the both of them.


	19. Episode Nineteen – Girl Meets Date Nights

There were days when Josh felt a little guilty about monopolizing Maya’s time during her first semester in college, he knew that Riley worried about her best friends, and she had constantly told him that if it wasn’t him then it would be her family taking up her time. She had a new little brother, she had a dad now, she had all of these things that Maya, in her own mind, would say she would never have gotten. Riley reassured him about it constantly, but it didn’t stop him from feeling just a little bit guilty for not having Maya spend at least one weekend at her own school.

His solution to all of his own guilt, and possibly a bit of Maya’s when it came to not being around as much, was to spend more time traveling up to Maya’s school and seeing her there. Plus it helped fulfill one wish that his girlfriend had and that was that they would get to cuddle together on her bed like Riley did with Lucas, but that was mostly selfish for both of them, and probably had a lot to do with how close his niece was with her boyfriend.

So, that weekend, he found himself standing in Maya’s room, setting up a movie night for the two of them. Farkle had taken Smackle out for the night, something about a meteor shower, so he would be alone with Maya for the entire night. They were going to spend the next day with their friends as they prepared for their spring break trip, but that night was just for them and he was glad that he would get that chance right now.

“What up Boing,” Maya said and he knew she was joking because while she had said it in the same way she had when she had been in middle school, her smile was the one she reserved just for him.

“Funny you should ask,” he said before pulling her into his arms and slowly dancing in slow steps. “Tonight,” he said twirling her around. “We’re just going to stay in and watch movies and it’s going to be just the two of us.”

“I would like that very much, especially since tomorrow afternoon we’ll be on the road for hours just going on this crazy road trip that Riley suggested,” she said smiling up at him, he would never get over the fact that she was shorter than he was, for some reason it always made him happy that she was always close enough to hear his heart beat for her.

“Yes, well there’s that, but also, I had a promise to keep, you know us cuddling on your bed watching movies and just being together.”

“Ah yes, this was before Mr. Matthews freaked out because he heard what we said.”

“Yes, but because of that Riley stood up to my brother, which is a big step for her, because honestly she needed to do that. I remember how he had been when she was still a kid, before you came into the picture and it wasn’t as bad as it was once Lucas came into the picture.”

“Hell, I’m pretty sure he was bad the moment I came into the picture, but you know what it taught me, that that was the kind of father I wanted, and look at what I have now and it’s all thanks to her.”

“Does this include me?” he said smiling as he continued to sway around with her. “It better include me, because if it doesn’t then what have I done to forsake you.”

“Josh, it will always include you, I know she jokes about being scared of me becoming her Aunt, but that’s usually just her joking, I honestly think that she’s just meant to find people and bring them together,” she told him as she wound her arms around his waist resting her head near his heart. “Sometimes it doesn’t work, we already know that, but other time she knows that people are just meant to be together.”

“That’s sweet,” he told her, and he knew that without a doubt that Maya was right. “At least she knew when to fight people’s stubbornness and force them to actually work through their feelings because man we were really stupid a few years ago.”

“You were stupid, I was a ray of sunshine,” she said and all he could do was give her a look. “Alright, I was stupid, I did something stupid, but I can’t take all of the blame for it.”

“You don’t have to, we can share the blame, but just remember it’s those things, those dumb stupid things, that made me realize just how much I cared about you, just how much I absolutely love you.”

“Yeah you do,” she pulled away and brought his face down to meet hers, giving him a soft kiss on his lips. “It’s why I love you too.”

He smiled into their second kiss, before pulling her towards her bed where he set up some food and his laptop, “Come on let’s watch this movie,” he said before showing her the horror movie that she had wanted to see months before but it had only come out overseas and they had had to wait.

When she squealed he couldn’t help but laugh, strangely enough this was when he saw her act the most like a girly girl, all because of a horror movie, outside of that she only showed her softer sides to him and Riley, other than that she usually had some form of mask on. It was nice that she was able to fully let herself go when he was around. It was one of the reasons why he knew that this was going to last, the trust that they had built over the years even after everything they put themselves through.

Josh pulled out a fleece blanket that Maya had under her bed and wrapped it around the both of them before settling into her bed, he couldn’t help but smile at just how perfectly she fit next to him. This was what he had wanted ever since his brother told him to find his own version of Topanga, and it was perfect.

* * *

Lucas loves Riley, honestly, he couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend in his life, but the few months everything in the world has tested their relationship. They’ve tested his resolve to not go after the person who had the audacity to even try and attack Riley, he’s seen her struggle with a lost of things, and some days he sees a distant look in her eyes almost like she’s reliving what happened. He glad that she’s a strong person, not many people could have done what she had done, but it hurts to see her in so much pain. That’s why, after dropping Zay, Charlie and Sam off at the speed dating event, he decided that taking Riley somewhere was his priority, he wanted her to be somewhere she felt comfortable.

Dinner at the dining hall was their first stop, it wasn’t romantic in the slightest, but they paid for those meals and they were going to use them. He grabbed extra food before they left, she thought that it was only because he tends to get hungry when they’re watching movies, but actually it was because he was taking her somewhere. Farkle had told him about the meteor shower he was going to see with Smackle, the genius even told Lucas that it would probably be something that Riley would like, because of course Farkle noticed things not just with Riley but with Lucas himself.

So, Lucas got enough food for them to have, mostly fruit and a couple of bottles of water, in case they didn’t get back until morning. Taking her hand, he walked her out to his car.

“Lucas where are we going, I thought we were going back to my room to watch a movie,” she said but all he could do was smile as he opened the car door for her.

“It’s a surprise,” he said giving her a soft kiss on her lips before pulling away. “Now buckle up, I don’t want your dad coming after me if you get hurt and because you didn’t put on your seatbelt.”

“Well we wouldn’t want that,” she told him with a smile just as he closed the door and rushed over to the other side of the car and getting into the driver’s seat. “You know, I haven’t driven since I got my license.”

“Well that’s going to change during spring break, mainly because I don’t want to drive that long and we’re going to be driving close to ten hours to get to where we’re going.”

“I really can’t wait,” she said smiling at him in that way that always made him feel nothing but love, but he always felt that when it came to Riley. “I really need the break too; I’ve been a little... um... well.”

“I know Riley,” he knew all too well, but he didn’t want to bring up what she had been through in the last few months, it still hurts him that it happened and he wants to protect her in the only way he knows best, but he also knows Riley and she’s stronger than most people give her credit for. She’s gone through a million different trials since he’s met her and she has always come out of them stronger, so the only thing he can do for her right now is just be there when she needed him. “Let's think of something else.”

“Well, where are you taking me?” she asked him as he drove them down the road towards the meadow that Farkle had told him where they could see the meteor shower. Lucas knew that Farkle was taking Smackle somewhere farther upstate, to an observatory he had contacted but Lucas didn’t need that, he just wanted a moment alone with Riley where they wouldn’t be interrupted by their normal lives.

“It’s a surprise,” he said to her keeping his eyes on the road, only taking one hand off the wheel to grab onto her hand and giving it a kiss before placing it right over his heart. “Can’t a boyfriend surprise his girl?”

“Yes, yes, he can, even though we’re driving down a dark road towards nowhere in particular, almost like I’m being kidnapped.”

“Except you’re not, trust me please.”

“I do Lucas, with all of my heart,” she said taking his hand and placing it over her own heart. “I always have.”

After that they were quiet for the rest of the drive, Lucas only let go of Riley’s hand so that he could keep his hands on the wheel, and while she protested against him letting go, she still let him. He had noticed that since the incident she tries to keep as much contact with him as possible, and while at first, he had been afraid of triggering her because of the attack, he later learned that she needed him as much as he needed her. At first, he always let her initiate contact with him and after a while he only grabbed her hand never pulling her close like he used to. It was always up to her, but once she did, he always took in her warmth and the knowledge that she was still there with him.

It was going to take a while for them to go back to the way they had been before, he was always careful around her now, but it’s because he wanted her to come first no matter what. Even if it takes a million years, he would wait for her.

When the turn off towards the meadow came up, he quickly took the turn, watching Riley as the path lit up by the car’s lights. He knew her fear of anything horror move related, but he hoped that she wouldn’t think anything bad would happen while they were there.

“We’re here,” he said as he pulled into the patch of dirt turning the lights off.

“And where exactly is here? Because Lucas this looks like the place kids would get murdered in a horror movie.”

“It’s not, it’s a meadow,” he said to her before getting out of the car. He watched as she reluctantly got out herself and stood by the open door not moving at all. “Farkle’s dad owns it, they were going to build something on it but instead just left it as it is for now. Farkle told me that he comes here with Smackle to find things to test.”

“Oh, I’m guess we’re not here for a science project.”

“No, you see Farkle also told me that there’s a meteor shower tonight, and I told him that it would be something that you would like to see so he pointed the way here.”

Before he could say anything else, she launched herself at him and that was enough to make him smile, it felt like the old Riley was slowly returning every day, this was just another moment for them to share together.

“Oh my god Lucas this is just perfect, you’re so great,” she said smiling. “I couldn’t have asked for a better boyfriend in the whole world.”

“You didn’t have to ask, you had me from that first moment on the train when all you did was look at me,” he told her taking her hand and kissing it. “Riley you have my heart, my soul, my everything.”

The moonlight was enough for him to see the fresh tears in her eyes, “You have me heart too Lucas Friar,” she said to him, her voice choking up as she said his name. “I love you more than anyone in the whole world.”

“Even you father,” he said as a joke and she laughed. It was nice to see her like this again.

“Lucas, my father is my father, and he should never be brought up in a conversation where I’m trying to tell you just how special you are to me.”

“I know, but I feel like he’s always watching even when he’s not around.”

“I know, in all honesty I don’t know if we’ll ever escape his overprotectiveness, but when it comes to you versus him, I pick you,” she stopped and cringed a little. “This is weird.”

“It is and it isn’t, eventually we were going to have this conversation, but at least I know where we stand. I’ll never tell him anything you said because I feel like he would murder me where I stand,” he told her with a smile.

“Good because I like our future together and I don’t want him to ruin it.”

He couldn’t help the laugh that came out of him, it was great that they understood one another so well, “Let’s get all set up over there,” he said pointing to the middle of the field. “I even borrowed a telescope from Farkle so that we could look at the stars.”

“You’re changing the subject Lucas,” she said as he pulled her towards the middle of the meadow. “Do you not want to talk about the future?”

“No, I just want to give you the chance to wish on a star, and maybe one day that wish will come true,” he said because it wasn’t that he was afraid of the future, it’s just that he wanted to think about it and maybe make his own wishes.

“Honestly, I don’t know what else to wish for when everything I have right now is perfect,” she said and kissed him just as the first meteor flew over their heads, just having a happy Riley was the best thing to wish for.

* * *

Farkle knew one thing above all others, and that was that Isadora Smackle was the one person in the whole world who understood him. As much as he loves his friends, there were things that his girlfriend knew that no one else would ever know. This part of the relationship went both ways because he had started to notice things as well and while he was glad that it had made him worry about her more than anything. College had not been easy for his beloved, not in the sense that she didn’t understand school, but in the sense that her family wasn’t there to pull her back from her studies. You see, Isadora had the tendency of immersing herself in her work and forgetting the basic functions of a human being. That’s where his luck, of all things had come in, and had gifted Isadora with Maya as a roommate. And while Isadora still immersed herself in her work, she also remembered to go out and eat like a normal person.

It was during this time that he had realized that they needed a date, just the two of them, to commemorate their relationship, their anniversary had long passed, but he wanted to have a moment where she wasn’t engrossed in her work and he wasn’t busy splitting his time between family obligations and school. He had only remembered about the meteor shower just days before it was meant to happen, and it was enough of a scientific curiosity for him as it was what Riley would call a romantic moment. That’s why he had brought it up with Lucas, because he knew that Riley would like it as well, and it was Farkle’s way of making up for what had happened their first semester. Even though Riley has constantly told him that there was nothing wrong with what had happened.

“Okay Beloved,” Isadora said to him as she stepped out wearing a dress that most likely had been picked out by Maya but looked great on his girlfriend. She didn’t look as nervous as she had when they had first started dating, and she was more comfortable with him then with anyone else. It was strange to him that he had met her so early in his life and was still with her, and while his friends didn’t know about their fights, as few and far between as they were, it made them feel more like a real couple.

“You look beautiful my one and only,” he said smiling, this wasn’t a normal date, he had known in freshman year of high school that his life with the one and only Isadora Smackle wouldn’t end. He learned from the Matthews that when something special came along you had to hold onto it. Science couldn’t define what love was, he learned this from his own parents, two people so opposite they worked, he learned this from watching his own friends learn to love and sometimes stumble when it came to finding someone they loved. It was work, and that was something he knew how to excel at.

His decision towards this moment had come from a lot of thought, and research, well that and love for the one person who he cares for the most. So, after calling for an uber, the two were off towards the observatory which was just beyond where Farkle had told Lucas to take Riley. It was the one place where there was the least amount of light from the nearby city skyline, and it reminded him of that first anniversary dinner he had put together with Riley’s help. That felt like a million years ago, even though he knows it wasn’t that long ago, but they had grown so much since and it has helped him accomplish so much at the same time.

Walking Isadora into the building, holding her hand with nothing but a smile on his face, he knows how much she cares for normal human interactions, she always feels left out. It’s why the first semester of college he was happy that she got to experience so many things just from going on double dates with Josh and Maya. They taught them how to be a couple in a way that he couldn’t learn from Riley and Lucas. All of his friends had taught him something different, and that’s the fact that all of their relationships, their likes and dislikes, their mannerisms around one another are so different. It made him realize that Isadora and himself are unique in their own way and these moments were special no matter how small or how extravagant they are.

“Are we here to watch the meteor shower?” Isadora asked him looking around the observatory, he could tell she was excited there’s small ways he can tell, her eyes light up when it comes to science and this is one of those moments.

“Yes and no,” he said before turning off the lights in the room. He had gotten special permission for set up the observatory for their trip, the inside which is normally used as a planetarium during the day was set to where Isadora’s star was. “I would like to go meet up with our friends after we’re done here.”

“This is not our first stop,” she said looking at him with curiosity, she’s always analyzing a situation and he could see it, she always braces herself for something especially if it could be something that she has never experienced.

Taking a deep breath, he took her other hand. “I know we’ve been together since middle school, you may think we’re too young, but this is more of a promise,” he slowly kneeled down onto his left knee. “On the wall behind you is the star I brought for you back in high school, I brought it as a promise for us both, for our future, and I know there’s a scientific explanation for the stars in the sky, but I wanted to have something there for our future, something that would live with us.”

“Beloved,” she started but he shook his head, he didn’t want to lose the courage for what he was going to do.

“I want to spend my life with you Isadora Smackle, I want to change the world and make it better, I want to stand by your side no matter what our lives would bring, and if you would have me I would like to be with you forever.”

“Forever is a concept, it’s not something that can be measured,” she said, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Isadora, my love, I want to one day be your husband, and according to every couple we’ve met, and everyone we know, this is one step we should one day take, I’m not asking to get married tomorrow, but one day in the future,” he took out the ring that he had gotten made.

The ring was made of a special alloy that had been found in a meteorite, hence his need to propose during a once in a lifetime meteor shower. Riley always told him to make these kinds of moments special, to make them something that they would remember. But when Isadora was just standing there not saying anything, he was second guessing his actions, maybe they’re too young, maybe she doesn’t want this.

“I have watched my parents since I was a child wondering if this would have been possible for me, I’m not normal, but you’ve taught me so much since we’ve been a couple, you’ve taught me that it’s possible for me to fall in love with someone.”

“Is that a yes?” he questioned because he wasn’t sure where anything was going anymore.

“It is a yes beloved,” she said, and at that moment she had given him the greatest gift he could have received. “But just to be sure, we’re not getting married until after we have graduated college.”

“We’ll need our Ph.D.’s at the most,” he said knowing how ambitious she was and how much she wanted to accomplish everything without having to prove that she didn’t get there because she just so happens to with him.

* * *

Riley’s back was against Lucas’s chest, it was one of her favorite places in the world, the stars in the sky were perfect, and according to Lucas they were there for a meteor shower, a once in a lifetime event and she was excited.

“You know, I’m going to make a million wishes tonight,” she said to the sky excitedly jumping. “I want nothing but happiness for everyone of course, but I want to wish for something dumb, like a bunny rabbit to show up on campus, or for flowers to bloom right outside my window.”

“They’re not dumb if that’s what you want,” Lucas said, and she knew he was smiling, but then she heard a rustling around the trees and she wasn’t sure what was happening.

“Did you hear that?” just as she asked the question a familiar blonde head broke through, Riley holding in the scream that threatened to come out. “Maya?”

“What’s up,” Maya said walking over to them, Josh’s hand in hers. “Farkle said to come here in a weirdly cryptic message.”

Behind them was Zay, Charlie, and Sam who were all laughing about something, Riley didn’t know what. Her heart in her throat, she went from feeling happy on her date to scared to happy again, and that was too much happening all at once.

“You know, a serial killer could have killed you both,” Josh said as they reached them. “Then I would have to explain to my brother how I let you go off to be killed when you could have just stayed home.”

“Funny Josh,” Riley said, before she could say anything else the two geniuses joined them, both dressed up and smiling at one another.

“Farkle said that we needed to share this night with one another,” Zay said as he plopped himself next to them all the while Maya and Josh laid down a blanket on their other side.

“So, of course we’re crashing your date,” Charlie added before sitting next to Zay. “And thank you so much for leaving us behind in that room.”

“Well… um…” she didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t worry they left maybe half an hour after you,” Sam said before pushing the two of their heads. “They abandoned me for a coffee shop.”

“Sorry,” Zay said before turning to Riley and whispering, “Thank you.”

She winked at him, she was definitely getting the details later, but for now she just wanted to know why her friends were crashing date night. “So, why the impromptu gathering?”

“Well my darling and I have some news,” Smackle said smiling at the group, and Riley couldn’t help but see just how much she had grown over the later few years, she was more open with them all, but she was still very much Smackle and they wouldn’t change that for anything.

“I asked Isadora for be my one and only,” Farkle said, only to have everyone else groan, telling them that they already knew that, but Riley knew this was different. She stood up and hugged the two of them.

“Congratulations, and I want to be the best man,” she said as a joke.

It took everyone else a moment of confused glances before they caught up to what they were talking about, just before they all stood and shouted congratulations to the pair of geniuses. Just as the sky above them changed and a million stars flew by them. It really was a special night for her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why Smarkle??? Because I'm mad with Power!!!
> 
> Next chapter will come soon!!


	20. Episode Twenty – Girl Meets Road Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Without any plans for Spring Break the group decides to get into a van and drive off towards Virginia Beach, only for the car to break down leaving them stuck in the middle of nowhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The beginning takes place before chapter 18

The question of what to do for Spring Break had come up a week before the break would actually begin, well it mainly happened because Zay, who was half on Riley's bed and half on the floor had started to complain that they weren't doing anything.

"It's our first official spring break in college and we're supposed to be those kids on a beach living our best lives, and instead all we're really doing is studying," he pushed his textbook across the floor and sighed loudly.

"I'm going to visit family," Sam said to him before pushing his book back at him. Riley couldn't help but laugh at Zay dramatically pouting as the book slid next to his head.

"At least you don't have to spend a week with my sisters at our grandmother's," Charlie said while Maya braided his hair, it was weird to watch but it was how she had stopped calling him cheese soufflé.

"Says the guy who is getting his hair braided," Zay said with no malice in his voice, honestly Riley saw the way that he was looking at Charlie, it was cute but lately it's been infuriating because they would both stare at one another when the other isn't looking and giving each other those moony eyes. Oh god was that the same look she gave Lucas before they started dating, wait you know what she wasn't going to think about it.

"Don't argue please," she said to them, "I know that we should do something, but we're also broke college students and Lucas's car can't hold all of us in it."

"Well that's a lie," Maya said looking at her. "Lucas has a truck, with a back seat, you just don't want to share because then that means that you two can't sneak off."

"Maya," Riley screamed out throwing her own pillow at her best friend only to miss and hit Charlie instead.

"She's not wrong," Sam said laughing at them. "How many times did you and Lucas go for a drive last week."

"It's the only thing we can do, again we're broke college students," she couldn't help but pout about the whole argument. "Anyway, where would we even go on a non-budget?"

"Road Trip," Maya called out first.

"Road trip to a beach," Zay added in agreement, "We can camp if we have to, which would save a ton of money, Lucas and I can get the camping gear from home and everything."

"Fine, but we need to put this to a vote, with everyone, not just us, we all have to agree," she said especially since Sam and Charlie would be with their family so their vote wouldn't count.

"Gotcha," Zay said pulling out his phone, which meant that he was mass texting all parties involved. "Trip planning meeting set for tomorrow."

Honestly, they ganged up on her, because while Smackle couldn't go on the trip, Farkle said yes because his parents were going overseas for business and Smackle was visiting family on the other side of the country.

"My uncle moved out there and I haven't seen him since middle school," Smackle had said, the Uncle was the one that had taken her to the awards ceremony that Riley and Maya had gone to with Farkle.

The vote was four to two, Lucas being on her side because he wasn't sure about the truck and long distances, the farthest they've traveled was to their school, this was a two-hour drive. The road trip was to Virginia Beach, which was about eight hours, probably more if they stopped anywhere. It was right for Lucas to worry about this, his truck wasn't new, it was a few years old, Riley learned to drive in that car.

"Guys, we can't just go off without having the car checked," Lucas said to the group trying to at least move the trip somewhere closer. "We can go to Jones Beach."

"It too cold up here," Maya complained, and Riley knew that, but she could help but worry. "We'll all chip in as long as we're going somewhere warmer."

There really had been no way around it, and while she wasn't happy that they had shanghaied them, she was a little excited, the only times they had ever gone on trips had been to Texas, or the random family vacation. This was going to be their first college spring break, well not for Josh, but still it was a significant thing. And while her father complained when he had heard their plans over the phone, because there was no way that she would have said anything in person for obvious reasons. There was no way that he could really stop them, as her mother liked to remind him, Riley was now legally an adult and she could do whatever she wanted.

"But I pay for her to go to college," he had tried to argue, but that had been shut down when she reminded him about all of the things they had done in college and how it wasn't up to him to take those moments away from Riley because he couldn't get over the fact that she was growing up.

"Cory, she's an adult now, let her live her life and it's not like they're going alone, Josh and Maya will be there," her mother had said.

"That worries me even more, those two are like this close to," he starts make a hand gesture and Riley honestly didn't want to know what it looked like even over video chat.

"Cory seriously, leave it alone," her mother called out before smacking him upside the head. "Don't say things like that."

Riley honestly couldn't hear much after that because her mother took the phone and muted it, which meant that her parents were fighting over this one thing. Her father overprotective as ever but her mother fought him on this, and when they were done, they wished for her to have fun on the trip.

After the phone call she sat next to Lucas on the bed, everyone else had gone off to pack for the break, finish off the last of their school work, or in Maya's case calling Josh for a skype date because he was still in the city working on his own school work.

"I need to know," she said taking Lucas's hand in hers. "Are you okay with this?"

"I mean the way it happened is not ideal, but I did want to do something special with you for spring break, but I was thinking about something along the lines of going somewhere quiet and watching the stars," he sighed as he said it.

"Where would you like to have gone then, if you had the choice?"

"I wanted to go to Texas with you, hang out with Pappy Joe, maybe work on your driving," he smiled at her, she knew it was a joke, but she still felt nervous behind the wheel.

"I resent that," she smiled back at him. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay with being shanghaied into this."

"The whole thing makes me nervous, I mean my truck was a gift but it's not new and I've tried to keep it running, but hopefully nothing will happen we'll get some time together under the stars."

"I bet we will, and who knows maybe my dad won't show up out of nowhere and ruin everything… uh I probably shouldn't have said that, now it's out in the world."

Lucas laughed and it was the best thing to happen at that moment, he was stressed, not just because of the trip but also because of school. Their first year was almost over and they had all worked really hard but sometimes the stress was too much. She just wanted him to relax, and it probably wouldn't be possible until the whole semester was over.

* * *

The beginning of their trip started on an early Sunday morning, all because they had all accidentally camped out in the clearing watching the meteor shower on Friday and they weren't alive enough to travel on Saturday. So, Farkle had gone with Smackle to the airport the day before, while Sam and Charlie had gone home to their families, all wishing them luck on the trip. Riley should have known that it's was not going to go well, even while they were packing everything into Lucas's truck. It was mostly a feeling, it could have been anything, but she ignored it because everyone was excited to just get away. Josh offered to switch with Lucas on driving duty, and Farkle had loaded up a cooler with snacks he had brought back from the city.

Everything was going alright, even while everyone else slept around them, while Riley and Lucas took first shift, they were going to swap four hours in so that Riley and Lucas could nap. She had been asleep when it had happened, the truck stalled leaving them on the side of the road, and while Josh had woken Lucas, they had left her asleep and it wasn't until the tow truck came that they had woken her up.

It would take a full day before the truck could be fully repaired, Farkle offering to pay for it since none of them had planned for this to happen, even after Riley and Lucas both warned them that they truck wasn't made for long distance.

"I'll pay you back for this Farkle," Lucas said as he pulled out a piece of paper. "I'm going to write down the amount and I'll pay for it."

"Don't worry about it Lucas," Farkle started protesting but Lucas shook his head. As great as it was to have a friend with unlimited funds, Riley knew Lucas, he wouldn't like handouts.

"I don't want to have to rely on you for things like this, it would make me a bad friend," Lucas said before walking off to talk to the mechanic.

"He doesn't want to feel like he owes anyone," Zay said as they watched Lucas. "I think he's trying to pay his parents back for disappointing them in middle school, and while I'm sure that he's paid them back a million times over now, he still feels guilt over it."

"I know," Riley said smiling at Zay, "He has good friends but sometimes it's hard not to feel bad over things that happen in the past, and sometimes people just want to stand on their own feet."

She walked towards Lucas and just wrapped her hand in his, "It's going to be fine Lucas lets just go find a place to stay for the night."

It turns out they had broken down in a Delaware town and the only place they could afford to stay at was the motel that was just a short walk from the mechanic, so grabbing what could for the night they took the walk. Their friends had all felt bad for forcing the trip but she wasn't going to tell Lucas that, instead they all volunteered to go do something, Maya and Josh decided that they would walk to the nearby Walmart to pick up some stuff, Zay and Farkle went to the other room they had gotten to make some calls to their families to tell them they were having fun, even though it was a lie. This left Riley and Lucas alone in the room, Lucas running his hands through his hair, they both had been struggling with money the last semester, they needed part-time jobs, but just drove that in.

"Being an adult sure is a lot of work," she said, and she heard Lucas snort. "I know it's a lot but don't take this too hard."

"I know I shouldn't have taken it too hard, but I guess I kept thinking of just how much this is going to happen, not just now but in the future," he said taking her hand. "I get that this was supposed to be an experience, but it just highlighted just how much I don't have."

"You're not the only one feeling that way, but Lucas, we'll get through this just like everything else we've gotten through, because we'll be together and that's all that really matters."

Slowly raising her hand and kissing it before smiling at her, "Honestly I don't know how I got so lucky back in middle school, but I'm still glad that you fell into my lap."

"Yeah so am I," she said with a smile.

* * *

Josh and Maya had both been quiet on the walk to Walmart, Maya honestly just felt bad about what had happened, thinking back they probably should have taken a break after four hours and let the car cool down. But they had all been excited about getting to the beach and having some fun, they were college students they were supposed to have fun.

"I feel bad," Maya said looking around the area, just making sure that a car wasn't going to turn the wrong way and hit them. "I know we were so excited about this whole thing, but Lucas looked kinda…"

"Dejected, I know but I don't think that this has a lot more to do with something else and not just the car," Josh said pulling Maya towards his other side so that he was on the street side and she was protected by him. "But things like this happen honestly."

"Do they really? Because if they do, I don't think I'm ready to be an adult," she said taking his hand in hers.

"No one really is, you're kinda just thrusted into adulthood without a safety net, that's why I had such a hard time my first year of college, it happens."

It made Maya wonder about something else, mainly about Smackle and Farkle and how they're the most put together out of all of them, though they have their quirks. "I wonder how Farkle and Smackle do it, I mean they're now engaged and all."

Josh smiled at her and pulled her close for a moment, "I honestly think that Farkle was born old, ever since I met him he has always been this weird force but he's known just where he was going in life, while everyone else had to figure out just where they want to be standing at that moment."

"We that's one way to look at it," she said with a smile thinking back to Farkle growing up, "He's really mature if he's already thinking about his future with Smackle."

"I think it's more along the lines that he's found someone he wants to be with and knows that they would be together in the future."

"Yeah, I guess," she said and honestly, she thought to her own future, her art, her friends, and Josh being the cherry on top. "Do you ever think about it?" she was asking out of curiosity honestly because she had never really thought that far, she had always had this fear that sort of stemmed from her parents own failed marriage.

"The future, of course I think about it all of the time."

Now that it was out there she wanted an honest answer from Josh, "Josh, I want to know where I stand in that future?"

He stopped altogether, they were mere steps from their destination but even she knew that this wasn't a conversation to be having inside of a Walmart, "Maya, are you asking if I want to marry you?"

"Well I'm not outright proposing but I'd like to know… well you know for future reference."

There was a small smile on his face, and she could feel her own heat up but there was no backing out now. She had pretty much opened up her heart somewhere in the middle of nowhere Deleware next to a Walmart and now this just felt like the weirdest moment of her entire life, topping the time when she tried to be Riley, topping that moment when she jumps on Josh's back the day he got accepted into NYU, all of their high school experiences, and even things that she would never tell Riley about because they were too personal and involved her sex life. As much as she likes to tease Riley about the fact that Josh was her uncle and that she would one day be her aunt, there were just too many intimate things about her and Josh's relationship.

"Did you know that Topanga proposed to my brother," he told her, not really answering her question at all. "At graduation, they were going to elope and everything but decided to wait."

"Josh you're not answering my hypothetical question here."

"We if you were asking me at this moment I would say yes," he said in a teasing tone.

"Are you telling me to propose to you?"

"Maybe, you know a guy can only dream, they're usually the ones who propose but I've always thought that when I met that special person, well they would propose first, mainly because I look up to my big brother the most."

Now knowing where this was going Maya walked away for a moment, picked up a couple pieces of grass and weaved them into a ring. "Joshua Gabriel Matthews, would you maybe one day marry me?" she asked getting down on one knee and knowing that this is everything that she wants at that moment.

Josh kneeled down and kissed her, "Of course I will maybe one day marry you," he said as she slipped her little grass ring into his hand. He held onto her hand just a little longer, their eyes never leaving each other.

"I will probably forever blame you for the fact that I proposed outside of a Walmart."

"Yeah, but I would probably blame Farkle for ruining this for me too," he said and she was just confused.

"Why would you blame Farkle?"

He smiled at her before she felt something slip onto her hand, "I had been planning on taking you somewhere during spring break, you know somewhere special and all, just to proposed but the genius went and on upped me and proposed during a meteor shower. I even asked for your hand in marriage, I thought I was going to die."

There on her hand was a small diamond ring, she was speechless, "Wha…"

"I mean it's not my grandmother's ring, or my mom's but it's vintage and I knew it would be for this when I found it, so now that I've answered your question, I would like to ask you if you would be my wife?"

"Yes," she whispered before throwing herself into Josh's arms. "We're going to have the weirdest proposal story ever."

They were laughing as they kneeled down on the grass, Josh pulling her up and kissing her before they went back to what they were doing. It was honestly the weirdest moments in their relationship, but she liked that it was wholly theirs. She already knew that their engagement wasn't going to be as long as Farkle and Smackle's the two geniuses were planning to wait until after they finished their degrees, but honestly speaking, she didn't want to wait that long.

"Would a summer wedding work for you?" she said as they walked into Walmart, Josh laughed out loud as they grabbed a cart. "Not this summer of course, but maybe next summer."

"I will do whatever you want Maya, as long as we plan this whole thing together."

* * *

Farkle never told anyone, but he had a secret account for anytime his friends paid him back for something, there wasn't a lot in there, well not at first, mainly because his friends were self-sufficient, so if he paid for something and they gave him the money he would put it into this account. He invested that money, he didn't see it as his money, instead he had created a fund for moments like this where if his friends needed something it would be there. The problem with his method was that no one knew, and so he saw Lucas freaking out about the car and the lack of money and it made him feel bad.

"Hey Zay," Farkle said as Zay dug around his backpack and pull out a bag of cookies.

"Yeah man," Zay said sitting in the nearby couch.

"What would you say if I told you that the money, I used to pay for the car repairs came from a fund that I set up with the money you all paid me back over the years."

"Well, first off, there wouldn't be much money in there…," Zay stopped just as his eyes went wide, "Not unless you did something."

"I invested it, all of it."

"Dude all together we probably gave you less than two hundred, how much would be there now?"

"Enough," Farkle said not wanting to give away the amount. "I did it incase anything bad happened and you guys needed the money, I did it to protect you all honestly, especially since Riley is always protecting us in so many ways."

"Wow," Zay said sitting back and looking at him. "You're telling me this because…"

"I don't want Lucas paying me back for this, not when we sort of forced this trip on him."

It felt weird, taking money from his friends when he had so much, it's why he paid for repairs in Maya's apartment when they were in middle school, or why he could involve his mom in creating thousand-dollar dresses for a school dance. He had the money, and there was no way that he would be able to spend it in his lifetime, but over the years he learned that it was better to pay it forward for the things that his friends did for him.

"Don't tell him," Zay said and honestly it surprised him. "Lucas is a very proud person, he's worked so hard to get to this point in his life, especially after everything that's happened, so he wouldn't really feel good about something like that."

"But he's going to pay me back for this and it'll make me feel awful since I have this money."

"Then save it, whatever he gives you save it, who knows maybe you can give it to him when he's in a better place, but for now just leave it."

Farkle sat there and took in what Zay was saying, he was right in every way but it still made him feel awful about the whole thing. "Okay," he said deciding that this wasn't the time to say something. "How about we turn this whole day around, and just make him feel better then?"

"Yeah I was thinking about that but then I got hungry," Zay said offering him a cookie. "Maya and Josh are taking a long time getting back too so we can't actually go out and get food."

"Leave them to their time alone, we can use it to plan something fun to do when they get back."

"I saw something on one of the billboards on the way into town, there's a go cart track not far from here, and there is a beach nearby as well, so we can go there."

"The go carts today, the beach tomorrow, and when we get the truck back, we can finally make it to our final destination."

"Or we can stay around here, I mean there has to be a campsite somewhere."

The two of them worked on their plan, they had found a campsite that had specialty cabins, and while he knew his friends wouldn't be happy about him spending the money, it would be worth it, especially since they were themed cabins. They called and asked to see if there were some available, and they were in luck because there were two, but one was for a family of four and the other was for a single couple.

Farkle decided to take them, "Riley and Lucas can have that one," he said smiling when he had heard what kind of cabin it had been. "I mean she does love Princess themes."

Zay laughed out loud and wrote down the directions to the cabins, "The other one has one double bed and two singles so we can share, and their nearby so we can even have a fire and roast some marshmallows."

"So, it's decided?"

"Yup," Zay said and they shook on it.

* * *

When Maya had walked into the motel room Riley could automatically tell that something was different, they have been friends since forever, and Riley automatically knew something was up, but that mostly had to do with the fact that Maya was smiling like crazy. So, she did what any good best friend would do and pulled her best friend into the small bathroom without even asking for permission, and Maya went along without question.

"What happened?" Riley said the moment the door was closed.

"Well…" Maya started before holding up her hand and showing Riley the ring on her finger, causing the two to jump and squeal out loud, before Riley opened the door, dragging Maya out and hugging Josh.

"How did I not know about this?" she asked Josh who probably should have told her something, anything, but hadn't.

"It was supposed to be a surprise but then Maya proposed and ruined everything," he said without any malice in his voice. "So of course, I had to actually propose."

"We were outside of Walmart," Maya added with a smile on her face. "It's the weirdest proposal story in the world, and one that will be fun to tell in the future."

"But why now?" Riley asked curious, especially since all of her friends were all of a sudden getting engaged.

"Well Dr. Genius over there proposed before I could, I've been planning this since my birthday and the only people that knew were Maya's mom, Shawn who actually chased me around the apartment when I asked for her hand in marriage, and my parents, who were all sworn to secrecy."

"I'll take my Walmart proposal over something romantic," Maya said with a smile.

"That's only because you like weird and creepy things, and this place is both weird and slightly creepy," Zay said making Josh laugh. "What had been the original plan?"

"The beach at sunset was the second plan, the first was to propose where we first met but I can't very well take over my brother's apartment for this," Josh shrugged at that last suggestions, "But this makes it one hundred and fifty times more memorable, though can we tell Shawn that it was a nice and normal proposal."

"I promise, Shawn will never know... well at least not until we're living in our own place and he isn't legally allowed to kick your ass," Maya said kissing Josh.

Riley was happy for the two of them, but honestly speaking she wasn't ready for that with Lucas, and she knew that Lucas understood this especially when he took her hand in his. She liked that they took things slow mainly because whenever they tried to rush things life got in the way and everything would get out of control. He slowly pulled her towards where he was sitting and she couldn't help but sit next to him.

"We have to celebrate," Riley said from where was sitting, smiling up at her friends. "We celebrated with Farkle and Smackle in the field, so we should celebrate now too, though can we not stay up all night please."

"Well Zay and I have an idea on how to celebrate then," Farkle said with a smile. "We can do this after the car is fixed too."

"Yeah it will be great," Zay said smiling at honestly Riley was afraid of what they were planning, Zay seeing the look on her face laughed. "Don't worry sugar, it's nothing bad."

"Yeah nothing terrible," Farkle added before pulling out his phone. "We found this place nearby, maybe a twenty or so minute drive, they have these cabins they're small, but we thought we could stay there."

"Farkle," Lucas said and Riley knew where this was going, but before Lucas could protest Farkle held up his hand.

"Don't worry Lucas, it's not expensive or anything, they're on a campground and everything, but Zay and I figured that we needed to do something to make up for the fact that we sort of forced this trip on you and Riley."

"I didn't mind the trip," Riley said knowing that even when everything went wrong as long as they were together, they would be fine.

"Yeah but still we were kind of well..." Zay didn't finish what he was saying. "Forget it."

"Yeah let's," Josh said to everyone, "From this moment forward lets just have fun and try to forget what got us here."

That's how it went for the rest of the day, they ate microwaved meals for dinner, because they were too tired to actually try and find a place to eat. Riley cuddle up to Lucas to make sure that he was alright with everything that had happened, and she could feel him relaxing so it was going great.

The next morning, after Farkle and Lucas had gone to get the car, and they were once again piled into the car, they made another stop at Walmart for extras, mostly food that needed to be cooked and not microwaved. They brought a small and relatively cheap grill, a cooler that was filled with meat and ice, as well as a few veggies because they needed to be a little healthy. Once everything was secured onto the flatbed of the truck they went off, following Farkle's directions towards the cabins. It was a relatively warm day, and a little quiet until they pulled into the area where their cabin was, or cabins.

"There's two," Riley said looking at the group, suddenly realizing that maybe Josh had asked for a place for him and Maya.

"Yeah they're also themed," Zay said smiling at them as he handed Lucas a set of keys before grabbing Josh and Maya dragging them towards the bigger house.

"Uh," Lucas said not knowing what just happened. "Zay where are you guys going?"

"The little house is for you and Riley," Farkle said patting Lucas on the arm. "It's our gift to you for dragging you guys into this trip and of course the fact that everything went wrong when we left New York."

"What," Riley said but before she could finish Farkle walked off to join the others. She was honestly speechless she didn't know what to do about what just happened.

"They gave us our own cabin in the woods," Lucas said looking at her equally dumbfounded by what was happening. Riley couldn't help but blush at the fact that she was going to be truly alone with Lucas in a cabin rented out by her friends. "We don't have to do anything."

"Okay," she all but whispered. "I'm not ready for that… not really, I mean I love you and I see a future with you but that's too big of a step to take right now."

"Of course, it is, I want to at least talk with you about it but even I'm not ready for that, not if I freak out over something like a broken-down car."

They both just stood there, unsure of their next step, she wasn't scared of Lucas, he was a gentleman, but she wasn't ready for somethings… not like her friends were. Lucas took her hand and held it against his cheek before kissing it softly. It was the courage she needed just to walk towards the cabin.

What they walked into was a something that looked like a forest in a Disney movie, bed was carved out of wood the headboard looked like a tree going all the way into the ceiling. Throughout the room there were little animal plush toys and carved woodland creatures, it looked like a fantasy world.

"Wow, this place is just like you," Lucas said before picking her up bridal style and walking her into the room. "It's made for a princess."

If her face could become a tomato, this would be the moment it would happen, especially the moment he put her down and kissed her. The whole thing had rendered her speechless, she couldn't help but look at every little detail around them.

"Riley," Lucas said like he was afraid that she was going to freak out. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just a little… well unexpected," she finally said wishing that she could crawl under the bed and die. "It's everything I could wish for, but it still scares me."

"I promised, not until we're ready, if it would make you feel better, I can sleep on the floor, I do have a sleeping bag."

"No, the bed is big enough for both of us, and we've slept in the same bed before, but…"

"Someone was always in the room with us," he finished for her. "Nothing is going to happen, we can playhouse, and cook dinner for everyone, we can talk all night if you want to."

She knew that he wouldn't force himself on her, they always talked everything through, it's what they did, and since he knows that she's not ready then he's not going to force the issue. Lucas honestly wasn't like other guys, and she was lucky that he was one of the best guys she knew.

"Okay," she said trusting him just because he never let her down.

Later that day, when the whole group had gathered in front of the fire pit and started setting up the barbecue they were all relaxed, their first day had been a hard one, but honestly it just made this moment more worth it. They didn't need a beach or a spring break like the ones in the movies, they just needed each other.

"So," Zay said as they all settled into their dinner. "What's everyone's plans for the summer?"

With the semester almost over, and finals just around the corner, they all had to thing of what they were going to do for the summer. It was a simple conversation, and one that would honestly give them a chance to plan out some weekends together.

"I'm working at Minkus International this summer with Smackle," Farkle said a small smile on his face. "My dad saw something we had been trying to put together and offered us an internship for experience."

"Cool, cool, cool," Zay said nodding as he said it.

"I'm going to spend the summer with my family," Maya said smiling proudly, "Probably work at the café with Josh too."

"Yeah, I need to save up this summer," Josh added, "Since I'm starting grad school in the fall, and I need an apartment since the school doesn't offer housing to grad students."

"Is Maya going to move in with you?" Riley asked genuinely curious, she had thought that all of the girls would all share a suite in the fall.

"No," Maya said smiling. "I don't want Shawn to turn into your dad, though sleepovers are encouraged."

"What about you Lucas any plans?" Zay asked moving the conversation away from what was currently starting between Maya and Josh.

"I got a summer internship at a ranch just outside the city, so I'll be commuting to work," Lucas said before taking a bite out of his food. Riley already knew this they had talked about their summer plans earlier in the semester. "What about you Zay, since you're the one asking all of the questions?"

"Well I'll have you know I'm working with Riley's mom this summer."

"What?" the whole group screamed out.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it and I'm getting a Criminal Justice degree, and after what happened with Riley and that guy, and I talked to your mom about it and she said they usually had summer internships for students who were looking in careers in law, whether it's on the police force or in a law office, so I applied and they've offered me a job."

"Wow, how did I not hear about this," Riley said honestly surprised.

"I told your mom to keep it a secret," Zay winked at her and she couldn't help but laugh, Zay would be good in that sort of field, he was great with people. "What about you sugar, anything this summer, other than following Lucas around."

"Ha, very funny, but no, I actually applied to the summer writing institute at NYU, after writing as much as I have the last few years I thought it would be a good opportunity, plus I would be home all summer and like Maya, working at the café," she had been thinking about it for a while and got a great recommendation from her writing professor, who had actually given her the application to try it out.

"So, we're all going to have a busy summer, when will we ever see one another," Zay said lounging back for a moment.

"The Forth," Josh said smiling.

"We can see the fireworks from Farkle's house," Maya added, "It's the best view in the city."

"I'll tell my dad, maybe we can make it a family event and have everyone over," Farkle said to them and honestly Riley loved the idea.

"Well lets just get through this mini vacation, and the rest of the semester before we start planning anything," Riley said to the group before they all went back to their food.

Even with a few hiccups this year, it was honestly one of the best she's had, she couldn't predict the future, but she already knew that the rest of the year was going to be great as long as she had her friends and her family.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is a part of the Spring Break Chapter, I just wanted a reason to write more Cory Matthews freak out sessions. It’s also the reason why Riley and Lucas are alone in that cabin… Listen if I can’t write Cory bursting into the room and freaking out then what am I supposed to do!

Honestly she wasn’t nervous about sharing a room with Lucas, it was actually really nice not having anyone around, what was making her nervous was that all of her friends, well with the exception of Zay, Charlie and Sam, were getting engaged and that was a step that she really wasn’t ready for herself. She knew that she had to talk to Lucas about it and fast, she just wanted to have a normal relationship, though somedays she knew it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon not with her father.

“Hey Lucas,” she said staring at the sky painted on the ceiling. “You’re not thinking about marriage, are you?”

She heard him laugh before pulling her into his arms. “You’re so cute,” he said kissing her forehead. “Not now, maybe in the future yes, I meant what I said freshman year of high school Riley, I have hope for us in the future.”

“Good,” she said snuggling into his chest. “You know this is really nice, the cabin, I think this is the first time I wasn’t worried about my dad busting in and freaking out on us.”

“And for that we should thank our friends by making the best spring break ever,” he said to her. “It’s also really nice to be alone for once, did you know that we’re almost always surrounded by people?”

“I have noticed, it’s almost as if we’re in college or something,” she said giggling, she stopped for a minute remembering what had happened the day before. “Lucas, are you okay?”

“Of course, I am, I have you.”

“No, I mean, you were freaking out a little yesterday, and I know just how stressful the last year has been on the both of us. You’re always taking care of me, but I worry that you’re stretching yourself too thin.”

He sighed, making her look up at his eyes. “You know me better than anyone, even Zay and he’s known me since we were kids, but yeah I guess I am a little overwhelmed.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Well between everything that happened last year with Zay, and then the thing that happened to you earlier this semester, of course adding school and worrying about the future, it’s a lot to take in sometimes.”

“I’m here for you, no matter what it is,” she said kissing his chest right where his heart was beating, she could feel it just under his shirt, it reminded her that they had to look out for one another. “No Texas Lucas allowed, you’ve worked past that a long time ago.”

“It’s a different kind of stress compared to that, I’m not angry just I don’t know, tired I guess,” he kissed her on her head before continuing. “College is harder than I thought, and the future is a little scary now that I have to think about it.”

“We’ll get through it all together, not matter what, just remember to lean on me a little so that you don’t… you know, blow up on anyone.”

“I will,” he said squeezing her a little closer to himself, right before letting out a big yawn. “Should we try and get some sleep?”

“I’m with you on that,” she said as she settled onto the bed as Lucas spooned her from behind, his warmth reminding her that she needed to take better care of him because he sometimes forgot that he needed help just as much as the rest of them. “I love you Lucas,” she said to him.

“I love you too Riley,” he whispered into her hair, and she could feel him relaxing and falling asleep so she did the same.

* * *

Josh should have known that this trip was going to come back and bite him right in the ass, mainly because his brother was overprotective and slightly insane when it came to Riley. So, he should have stopped Maya from posting a picture on her Instagram of the group and tagging the cabins as their location. But they were on a trip, it was supposed to be a fun experience, so he had forgotten for a little while that his brother was insane. So, he should have seen the first message as a sign that things were about to go off the deep end.

**Cory** : You guys aren’t in Virginia?????????

**Cory:** Where’s Riley, she’s not answering her phone.

**Cory:** Don’t ignore me Josh

**Cory:** I blame you for this

Taking one look at his phone, at two in the morning he really didn’t want to deal with what was happening, but there were fifty more messages on his phone all about how they had lied to him. They had never lied to his brother, they hadn’t expected to have the truck breakdown on the way to their destination. He took one more look at the picture that Maya had posted only to notice that she had posted several photos one of which showed Lucas walking with Riley to the cabin with his arm around her. They were walking into their little cabin together, Josh knew that the two had been tired when they had left them just to get ready for bed, but the damage had been done.

Shaking Maya awake, he thought of what to say to his brother, “Maya get up we have a problem,” he said while she grumbled.

“What,” she called out loud enough that he was sure everyone else had heard. He didn’t say anything he just showed her the long stream of messages on his phone. “Aww crap,” she said sitting up and scrolling through his phone.

“You think, did you tag this place in the picture?”

“Yeah I think I did,” she said and he knew that she was regretting it now, but they were on break and they thought that it wouldn’t have been a problem, except for the fact that everything that involved Riley would eventually turn into ammunition for her father.

“What should we tell him?” she asked.

“The truth would be best.”

“Just not the whole truth, like he was just walking her home, and that’s it.”

**Josh** : Car broke down, we found a place to stay, while it was being fixed.

He showed her the message and hoped that that would be the end of it, he didn’t have to tell his brother everything.

“That’s good enough,” she said only just noticing that Farkle and Zay had both gotten up and were staring at them.

“Is there a problem?” Zay asked and Maya looked at the guys and sighed.

“My brother messaged me,” he said just as another message came. “And he wants to know where Riley is.”

**Josh** : She’s sleeping Cory, just like any other normal human being at this hour.

“This is not going to go over well,” Farkle said rubbing his eyes. “What are the odds of him showing up here?”

“Hopefully zero, can you imagine Mrs. Matthews taking that well,” Zay said to the group just as Josh’s phone buzzed again.

**Cory** : She better not be in the same bed as Lucas

**Josh** : Cory, my brother, please let us sleep

**Cory** : No, I want to know what my daughter is up to.

**Josh** : She’s eighteen Cory, she’s an adult… Don’t make me call Topanga

The phone sat silent for a few minutes and he’d hoped that that would be the end of it, he got up and went to get some water and hopefully get back to sleep. When he returned Maya was staring at his phone with Farkle right behind her.

“I don’t think that he’s in New York anymore,” Farkle said reading through the messages. “I think he’s actually trying to find his way here.”

“How do you know that?” Maya asked reading the same messages over and over.

“Look, the way they’re spaced apart, the first ones came in quick succession whereas the more recent ones are spaced apart, he’s somewhere maybe not nearby but close,” Farkle said and from those words Josh knew what was coming.

“Give me my phone,” he said to the pair just before Maya tossed it towards him, she let out a yawn and he knew that they were all tired, but this was something that they had to deal with and fast.

“What are you going to do?” Farkle asked him just as Josh pulled out his one trump card, his sister in law.

“I’m phoning a friend,” he said with a smile. The phone rang for a few minutes before Topanga answered, her voice groggy.

“Josh… is something wrong?” she asked, and he knew that she was alert and up automatically.

“There maybe a slight problem headed our way,” Josh answered, and he could hear her rustling around, most likely looking for his brother.

“What happened now?” she asked, and he knew that while she loved Cory, it was way too early in the morning for any of this. They were all tired, they all wanted to sleep, and at the moment the only people sleeping were Riley and Lucas, and well they were very much unaware of what was coming.

Josh explained the current situation, everything that had happened up to the moment where they found themselves at the cabins. How they all felt bad over what had happened and how they had wanted to make it up to Lucas and Riley. He could hear her sigh on the other line and then there was rustling on the phone.

“Give me directions to where you guys are, I’m coming to get that crazy husband of mine,” she said and while it should make him happy that it would be taken care of he also wondered if there was a way to intercept his brother before anything happened.

Once he hung up the phone he turned towards the group, “She’s coming down, I don’t know if Cory is here but hopefully, he got tired of looking and took a break somewhere.”

“Should we go back to bed?” Farkle asked first.

“More like should we warn Riley and Lucas,” Zay said and they all knew that they were going to try and keep the couple out of it.

“Let them have their night, they don’t need to know what’s happening,” Josh said while Maya wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’ll take first watch, the rest of you can go back to sleep, we can trade off every two hours if need be.”

The rest went off to bed as Josh settled himself in front of a window to see if his brother would show up at all. Maya brought her pillows over and laid down next to him. Thankfully the window had a bench and they could sit comfortably on it, or in Maya’s case lay down on it. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but it had happened and there had been no way around it.

* * *

From the moment he had seen the photos he had known that something was wrong, and so when he had sent the first few messages, he had hoped to get an answer quickly. When the answer hadn’t come, he had sent more and more, when the answers never came, he decided to go find them himself. Waiting until his wife was sleeping, he went to his car and drove down towards the area where the photo had been tagged, the drive was longer than he was used to but he wasn’t going to let his own daughter be defiled at such a young age.

The first reply came as when he wasn’t far from his destination, he got turned around a few times because of it and ended up on a backroad and had to backtrack. Stopping at a gas station to fill up and fix his GPS, answering his brother and letting him know about his disappointment. If his own brother couldn’t keep those two apart then who would. He loved that Riley is following her dreams, but he doesn’t want her tied down with Lucas. He learned from his father-in-law’s mistakes, he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Riley. There was also the thing about how he felt like he had held back Topanga, even though she had chosen to be with him there had been days when he had felt guilty about it. He didn’t want that life for Riley, he wanted her to have the chances that life gave her, but most of all he just wanted her to stay his little girl for just a little while longer.

When he finally pulled into the camp, he realized just how hard it was to find the right cabin from the pictures that Maya had posted. This probably had to do with the fact that it was four in the morning and pitch-black outside, the lack of lights at the place made it difficult to be able to tell one apart from the other. Sighing to himself, he decided on walking around until he found out where the kids were sleeping. Pulling out his phone he looked at the pictures comparing it with the campgrounds, seeing if anything matched. He should wait until the sun started to come up but it would be another two hours before that was possible.

“You know,” he heard a familiar voice say from behind him making him stop what he was doing. “I knew you were crazy when we were kids but this takes the cake.”

Cory turned around and saw the very familiar silhouette of his best friend standing a few feet away his arms cross. He couldn’t figure out how Shawn had found him, or how the man had known where he was at all.

“Don’t you have a baby to take care of?” he asked hoping to deflect from what he was doing.

“I do, and I was up feeding him while my wife slept, only to get a call from Topanga about how her wayward husband took off in the middle of the night to ruin spring break for his daughter,” Shawn said with a sigh. “I get it you love that little bird of yours, but don’t you think it’s time for her to fly on her own?”

“You don’t understand Shawn, that’s exactly what I want to do, but if she’s tied down to Lucas she wouldn’t do anything,” he said slumping down on a patch of grass where the trees hid them from anyone on the campgrounds.

“I don’t think that’s what’s going on here, because you’re the one person in the world who married their high school sweetheart and then proceeds to torture her just because you’re afraid of your daughter growing up. I’ve seen Riley and Lucas, hell even Auggie and Ava, you have two kids who got lucky and found love early in their lives,” Shawn sighed before joining him on the ground. “You know it took me too long to get to where I am, to have a relationship with my step daughter, but I’m not going to break into where Maya is and destroy the relationship we’ve built just because I think it’s crazy that she wants to marry Josh. It’s up to her to make that decision, it’s not up to me.”

“Oh please it’s a million years before Josh proposes to Maya, they’re young.”

“Yeah, the audacity that your brother had asking me and Katy for Maya’s hand in marriage only to get one upped by Maya, I mean how could she do that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Maya and Josh got engaged yesterday, they told us last night, and it was the craziest proposal story, but hell I have my own, you have your own.”

Cory had to stop himself from screaming out just from hearing the news, this was exactly what he was trying to avoid and now his own flesh and blood has betrayed him, he was going to kill his own brother.

“Don’t even think of doing whatever is going through that brillo head of yours, Maya is happy and that’s all that really matters to me and her mother.”

“But, it’s crazy they’re kids.”

“That’s a little hypocritical of you considering how old you were when you and Topanga got engaged, I mean didn’t she propose to you at graduation or something.”

“Oh, shut up you,” he said with a sigh. “Topanga is going to kill me, she’ll get away with it too because she knows how to work the law.”

“No, she won’t, she loves you and she knows your nuts about your kids, just maybe plan a trip with her, Auggie can stay with Katy, JC, and me, treat her right before she actually tries to kill you for pulling something crazy like this.”

Sighing and stood up, brushing away the dirt and grass off of his pants, not that they were pants, he was still in his pajamas, god he was crazy wasn’t he. “I need therapy, it’s not healthy to worry this much about my own kid.”

“It would be worse if you didn’t care at all,” Shawn said a reminder of his own past with his mother, or at least the woman he had thought was his mother.

The two older men left the campgrounds together, Shawn tailing him all the way back to New York as the sun rose on the coast. Josh never told Riley and Lucas about what her father had done, the two had enough to deal with as it is, they were allowed to be blissfully ignorant for a little while longer. Even if the outcome was that they had all been stressed until he had gotten an early morning text message from his brother saying that he hoped that they had a good time, and congratulations on his engagement. Josh was surprised by that, because the only people that knew at the moment were his parents and Maya’s but in the end, he knew that Shawn must have been the one to tell him, they were family after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments? Kudos?


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